Causes of Gender Disparities in Kenyan Organizations and the Respective Trade Unions

Abstract

Gender disparities continue to be reported in various dimensions of industrial occupations in Kenya and other parts of the world. This is despite the efforts by various stakeholders, including the enactment of the various gender-responsive labour laws and the inclusion of the industrial relations provision in the Kenyan constitution. Currently, according to the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics, women's representation in formal wage employment in Kenya is below 27 per cent. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the institutional factors that influence gender disparities at selected organizations and the respective trade unions in Kenya. A descriptive survey research design was used to obtain data from selected companies in Kenya. Primary data were obtained using questionnaires and interviews, while secondary data was sourced from company records. The data collected were coded and converted to numerical codes, which represent the attributes of the various variables of the proposed study. Data were summarized using percentages, ratios, frequencies and the measures of central tendency. The study findings indicated that gender disparities continue to be experienced at the various levels of organizational and trade union hierarchies. Margins of gender disparities tended to be higher at the top management compared to the operational levels of the organizations. Disparities, too, tend to be higher in manufacturing organizations compared to service sector organizations. The institutional factors that were observed to cause gender disparities included the recruitment practices and procedures, lack of inspection by the ministry in charge of labour in Kenya, and lack of provisions for appeal in the recruitment and promotion policies of the studied organizations. In the right of these findings, the study recommended that there should be strict measures by the government to ensure the implementation of the two-thirds rule at all organizational levels. Both the government and the trade unions must engage in regular labour inspections as a way of enforcing labour laws.