Leaders slow to correct the sex imbalance

PHOTO | GIDEON MAUNDU Women of the Flag of Kenya sensitise the public about voter registration in Mombasa. Women face hurdles on their path to development.

What you need to know:

  • In our continuing series on the NATIONAL AGENDA, we call upon those aspiring for leadership to spell out their path towards gender equity in all spheres of life

The work of Kenyan women is mainly confined to the informal sector and the private sphere, with a marginal presence in the public sector and low level representation in elective positions.

Moreover, their portrayal in the media diminishes their status through gender stereotyping and tokenistic representation. Due to the pervasive nature of patriarchy in Kenyan society, negative socio-cultural attitudes to women’s leadership abound.

Other barriers to women’s equal participation in decision making and leadership spheres include: gender based violence and intimidation; limited access to diverse resources; and, multiple conflicting roles.

The Human Development Report specifies Kenya’s Gender Inequality Index (GII) as 0.627 (against a world average score of 0.492). A high GII value indicates low achievement as it measures women’s disadvantage (relative to men) in three dimensions: reproductive health; empowerment (representation in parliament and higher education) and participation in the work force.

Development Index

On the Gender related Development Index (GDI) which measures how gender inequalities (disparities between men and women) affect human development (life expectancy, quality of life and educational achievement), Kenya scores 0.492 — a GDI value closer to one represents near equality between men and women.

Maternal mortality is the leading cause of premature death among women of reproductive age in Kenya mainly due to inadequate and inaccessible health care services.

The 2008-9 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey states that only 44 per cent of all deliveries take place under the care of a health professional (with marked variation in access between rural and urban areas).

Figures on HIV/AIDS prevalence exhibit a significant gender differential to women’s disadvantage. Prevalence rates for females aged 15-19 is about 3.5 per cent in comparison to males the same age which stands at one per cent; and, 7.4 per cent for females against 1.9 percent for males in the 20-24 age category.

The laudable progress in gender parity in primary school enrolment is diminished by the low transition to secondary school to socio-economic and cultural factors which lead to high drop-out rates resulting in fewer women reaching higher levels of learning.

At university, male enrolment is estimated at 60 per cent. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics places poverty incidence for female headed households at 50 per cent pointing to women bearing a disproportionate poverty burden.

The feminisation of poverty results from women’s subjugation, discrimination and exclusion which relegates their interests, silences their voices and ignores their contribution.

Women’s contribution to the Kenyan economy (mainly unpaid care work) is largely missed out in the computation of national accounts. Due to multiple roles, women tend to work longer hours than men, yet most of that input is not remunerated.

Data collected from 40 ministries (out of the total 42) looking at the overall numbers of men and women employed in government Ministries, State Corporations and Local Authorities finds that as at December 30, 2011, out of a work force of 130,959, only 49,344 women were employed (an equivalent of 37.7 per cent) as compared to 81,615 males (62.3 per cent).

This shows an improvement from 2009 when a survey by the Ministry of Gender registered only 30.9 per cent of those employed in Kenya’s public service to be women. There is an appalling representation of women in diplomatic postings. Out of 40 slots, there are only 11 female ambassadors or high commissioners — accounting for a meagre 14 per cent. Both studies (2009 and 2011) conclude that the employment and promotion of women in the civil service is tilted in favour of men.

Majority of women are relegated to lower cadres, far from the decision making levels of public service. According to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development’s 1st bi-annual report (2011-12) on Implementation of the 30 per cent affirmative action for women in recruitment and promotion in the public service, women account for a mere 0.5 per cent in top management.

The total female labour force in State corporations stands at 36.9 per cent with only 1.3 per cent at management levels. Out of a total of 42 chief executive officers of State corporations, only 11 are female.

The rules of engagement in the political arena are defined and organised around male norms and values, with minimal numbers of women in decision making spaces.

Traditional culture in Kenya is predominantly patrilineal, with retrogressive cultural and traditional practices including son preference, lack of belief in the importance of educating girls, forced marriages, female genital mutilation, bride price collection, widowhood rites (including widow inheritance) and disinheritance of girls and women impeding the quest for women’s leadership.

Further, poor socialisation which prepares boys for leadership and girls for domestic roles also works against women’s ascendancy to leadership.

Contributing to the Society for International Development’s analysis of Kenya’s 2007 elections and transition, Prof. Winnie Mitullah refers to the “socio-cultural patriarchal ideology” which accounts for women’s marginalisation due to their relegation to the “private domestic sphere” where multiple demands on their time undermine any scope for a public life.

Gender violence

Also, women’s ascendance to leadership faces additional socio-cultural and economic constraints including: gender based intimidation and violence; limited access to educational and training opportunities; exclusion from male dominated powerful networks of influence; discriminatory political structures; smear campaigns; and, lack of financial and other resources.

Women who venture into leadership are seen to go against the grain and are labelled negatively (male bashers, divorcees, of loose morals etc). Male authority is validated at all levels as the only legitimate form of leadership. Male control of most aspects of women’s lives and actions results in silence, suppression and submission.

Moreover, socialisation acts as a vehicle to perpetuate and nurture problematic gendered identities.

Sexism and sexist language thrives in society. There is gender stereotyping in the description of leadership styles. For example, a man’s response to a difficult situation is likely to be characterised as “firm” whereas a similar response by a woman is “stubborn”. Women are expected to exhibit exceptional qualifications and performance to prove themselves worthy of public roles and opportunities.

Although the slow rise of women into leadership positions in Kenya is providing a consistent challenge to these negative assertions on women’s equal right to leadership, much more remains to be done to bridge the gap between the promise enshrined in the country’s laws and policies and the prevailing socio-cultural, norms, attitudes and practice.

Across Africa, there is a progressive (albeit gradual) improvement in women’s representation in leadership. The election and re-election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as President of Liberia; ascendance of Malawi’s first female president and Rwanda’s global leadership in representation of women are key milestones.

In the region, Kenya is a laggard exhibiting gender discrimination in access to opportunities, services, resources and decision making spaces.
Advancing equal gender representation is an essential part of Kenya’s transformation agenda.

The Constitution charts a bold path for transforming the material condition, position and status of women through an explicit recognition of rights and provision of concrete measures to redress decades of marginalization and exclusion.

The up-coming General Election is a direct opportunity to increase the representation of women in elective and appointive positions.

Ms Ndomo is a policy and gender analyst