Kenya still lags behind in gender equality

Kenya has been recognised for its advances in improving gender equality particularly in government, however, new reports show that the country still has a long way to go.
According to a report by McKinsey Global Institute on the Power of parity in advancing women’s equality in Africa, Kenya has a gender parity score of 0.62, which is slightly above the African average of 0.58.
Despite the above average performance, this figure indicates that there is still high rates of inequality in the country as the overall the gap between men and women in both society and the world of work remains high.

In the Eastern Africa region, gender parity in Kenya lags behind those of Ethiopia and Rwanda, who have a score of 0.63 and 0.69 respectively out of the maximum score of 1.
Kenya has been trying to achieve more gender equality more so in the public service through the two-thirds gender rule.

There have been notable gains in the past five years, where for the first time the Cabinet is compliant with the two-thirds gender rule. Currently, seven of the 21 cabinet ministries are headed by women, contributing to 33 per cent.
Institutionalising alternative gender

BOTH GENDERS

Speaking during the launch of the report in Nairobi, Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru noted that the government is committed to ensure women leadership space is legally secured both in public and corporate sectors.
She further noted that her support of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report is anchored in ensuring that high ranking positions of power should be represented by both genders.
“We want an alternative gender leadership where if the President or Governor is a man, the deputy should be a woman and vice versa. This is the only way to ensure that more women are in leadership positions,” she said.

Data from the report shows that Kenya is performing well in labour force participation which is driven by the high involvement of women in the informal sector.

This figure can be increased given that few women work in the technical and professional fields.
“However, there is need for a concerted efforts towards reducing the unpaid care performed by women and increasing the leadership positions taken up by women,” the report by McKinsey Global Institute read.
McKinsey Global Institute used 15 indicators to determine the progress of countries in Africa towards gender equality.

These indicators were based on dimensions surrounding gender equality at work, gender equality in society, access to essential services, physical security, and legal protection.

THE WORKPLACE

Although Kenya performs better than the African average in gender equality in society, it scores slightly below in gender equality at work. The report shows that for every one hour a man works in unpaid care, the average East Africa woman works 2.7 hours, which would explain why many women are forced to take up informal employment.
Kenya also seems to be lagging behind in achieving gender equality in essential services, particularly in maternal health which is doing poorly as per global averages.

The country has a maternal mortality rate of 510 per 100,000 births as compared to the African average of 438 and a global average of 107.

“Gender-based violence remains an area of concern, albeit promises of sustainable interventions by the government. Kenya’s record on violence against women is one of the highest in the region, and significantly higher than the global average. In the past year, Kenya noted an increase in the number of femicides leading to protests and marches,” the report read.
Governor Waiguru noted that although the country is moving in the right direction, there is need to enshrine laws within the Constitution that will govern and enhance gender equality in all sectors including leadership positions and in economic activities.
“It is tough to push for gender parity especially in financing without policies; that is why we want to institutionalise alternative gender so that we are forced to create space for women as a bare minimum requirement,” she added.