IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v7y2023i6p1441-1461.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Gender-Inclusive Labor Policies on Women’s Employment in Isiolo County, Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • LINA ELSIE MORAA

    (Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya)

  • Dr. Muthoni Mainah

    (Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya)

Abstract

The gender gap in Kenya’s labour market has traditionally been in favour of men, with women being underrepresented in the formal segment of the market. Kenya has gradually come up with employment policies to rectify this problem and achieve gender equality in the market. While these policies are formulated at national level, part of the implementation is entrusted to county governments. However, the impact or effectiveness of these policies to achieve intended goal has hardly been interrogated mainly the context of county governments in Kenya. The study investigated the influence of gender inclusive labour policies on women employment, with a precise case study of Isiolo County. This study was be anchored on the Empowerment Theory which argues that actions of empowerment ought to yield outcomes. The study adopted a descriptive survey method, targeting women working with the county government of Isiolo within its three Sub Counties namely, Isiolo, Merti, and Garbatulla. The study found that gender- inclusive labour policies in Isiolo County have had mixed success. While most respondents believed that implementing these policies has increased the number of women in the workplace or leadership positions, there still needs to be more awareness. Most respondents reported experiencing discrimination, including hiring bias, promotion denial, and unequal pay. The study also revealed barriers to women’s career progression in the public sector, such as gender bias, lack of access to training, and work-life balance challenges. Moreover, respondents perceived the effectiveness of gender-inclusive labour policies as ineffective. A lack of awareness, insufficient training, and resistance to change are the main factors hindering their implementation. Further research and targeted interventions are recommended to address these issues, including promoting intersectionality, addressing unconscious bias, engaging male allies, and examining the effects of remote and flexible work arrangements.

Suggested Citation

  • LINA ELSIE MORAA & Dr. Muthoni Mainah, 2023. "Impact of Gender-Inclusive Labor Policies on Women’s Employment in Isiolo County, Kenya," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(6), pages 1441-1461, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:7:y:2023:i:6:p:1441-1461
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-7-issue-6/1441-1461.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/impact-of-gender-inclusive-labor-policies-on-womens-employment-in-isiolo-county-kenya/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mirza, Aimal, 2019. "Organizational Approach for the Design of a Comprehensive Compensation Package for Bank Employees in Afghanistan A Strategy for Acquiring and Retaining Talent," MPRA Paper 96531, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. David Hulme, 2009. "The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): A Short History of the World’s Biggest Promise," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 10009, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    4. Ludger Wößmann, 2008. "Efficiency and equity of European education and training policies," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 15(2), pages 199-230, April.
    5. Martin Mulwa & Timothy Gichana, 2020. "Does education reduce gender differentials in labor market participation? A Kenyan perspective," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 446-458, September.
    6. Hamish Low & Virginia Sánchez-Marcos, 2015. "Female labour market outcomes and the impact of maternity leave policies," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-22, December.
    7. Tazeen Fasih, 2008. "Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6407, December.
    8. Sher Verick, 2014. "Female labor force participation in developing countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-87, September.
    9. Amanda Ellis & Jozefina Cutura & Nouma Dione & Ian Gillson & Clare Manuel & Judy Thongori, 2007. "Gender and Economic Growth in Kenya : Unleashing the Power of Women," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6810, December.
    10. repec:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:p:87 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Zoltan Acs & Laszlo Szerb, 2007. "Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth and Public Policy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 109-122, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Isha Gupta, 2020. "Fertility And Mothers’ Labour Force Participation In Rural India," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0267, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    2. Troeger, Vera E. & Di Leo, Riccardo & Scotto, Thomas J. & Epifanio, Mariaelisa, 2020. "Motherhood in Academia: A Novel Dataset with an Application to Maternity Leave Uptake," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 518, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    3. Troeger, Vera E. & Di Leo, Riccardo & Scotto, Thomas J. & Epifanio, Mariaelisa, 2020. "The Motherhood Penalties: Insights from Women in UK Academia," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 519, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Troeger, Vera E. & Di Leo, Riccardo & Scotto, Thomas J. & Epifanio, Mariaelisa, 2020. "Motherhood in Academia : A Novel Dataset with an Application to Maternity Leave Uptake," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1312, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    5. Troeger, Vera E. & Di Leo, Riccardo & Scotto, Thomas J. & Epifanio, Mariaelisa, 2020. "The Motherhood Penalties : Insights from Women in UK Academia," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1313, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    6. Fallon, Kathleen M. & Mazar, Alissa & Swiss, Liam, 2017. "The Development Benefits of Maternity Leave," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 102-118.
    7. Arjun Bedi & Tanmoy Majilla & Matthias Rieger, 2022. "Does signaling childcare support on job applications reduce the motherhood penalty?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 373-387, June.
    8. Imre Lengyel, 2011. "Types of competitiveness of Hungarian regions: agglomeration economies and endogenous regional development," ERSA conference papers ersa11p674, European Regional Science Association.
    9. Amano-Patiño, N. & Baron, T. & Xiao, P., 2020. "Human Capital Accumulation, Equilibrium Wage-Setting and the Life-Cycle Gender Pay Gap," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2010, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    10. Anne Ardila Brenøe & Ulf Zölitz, 2020. "Exposure to More Female Peers Widens the Gender Gap in STEM Participation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 1009-1054.
    11. Fernando Castelló-Sirvent & Pablo Pinazo-Dallenbach, 2021. "Corruption Shock in Mexico: fsQCA Analysis of Entrepreneurial Intention in University Students," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(14), pages 1-31, July.
    12. Bhuiyan, Muhammad Faress & Ivlevs, Artjoms, 2019. "Micro-entrepreneurship and subjective well-being: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 625-645.
    13. Claudia Hupkau & Barbara Petrongolo, 2020. "Work, Care and Gender during the COVID‐19 Crisis," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 623-651, September.
    14. Castaño, María-Soledad & Méndez, María-Teresa & Galindo, Miguel-Ángel, 2015. "The effect of social, cultural, and economic factors on entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1496-1500.
    15. Serban Mogos & Alex Davis & Rui Baptista, 2021. "High and sustainable growth: persistence, volatility, and survival of high growth firms," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 135-161, March.
    16. Anna Bindler & Nadine Ketel, 2022. "Scaring or Scarring? Labor Market Effects of Criminal Victimization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(4), pages 939-970.
    17. José Luis Massón-Guerra & Pedro Ortín-Ángel, 2019. "Entrepreneurship capital spillovers at the local level," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 175-191, January.
    18. Rita K. Almeida & Mariana Viollaz, 2023. "Women in paid employment: a role for public policies and social norms in Guatemala," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3), pages 252-279, July.
    19. Agnès Charpin & Josep Amer-Mestre & Noémi Berlin & Magali Dumontet, 2024. "Gender Differences in Early Occupational Choices: Evidence from Medical Specialty Selection," EconomiX Working Papers 2024-5, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    20. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2021. "Does Biology Drive Child Penalties? Evidence from Biological and Adoptive Families," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 183-198, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:7:y:2023:i:6:p:1441-1461. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.