An investigation into factors affecting women involvement in Colleges management in Embu county

Abstract

Women meet a substantial role in society as procreators of the coming generation, as well as producers of goods and services. In the advanced economies they are fiddling an important role in the labor force. However, in many Kenyan communities, traditional sensing’s of women as subscript to men continues to dominate as many people conjure the preservation of African culture to vindicate the mastery of women. In recent years, women’s participation in management in all spheres is being advocated. This research report is based on a study conducted out to find out the factors striking women’s participation in management in Embu county learning institutions. Data was gathered from three public and three private institutions in Embu County between January and June 2014 using questionnaires, interview guides and written document analysis guides. The participants involved ten male managers (heads of departments, principals, personnel officers, ), twenty six women managers (principals, HODs, personnel officers and directors of different departments) . The respondents were chosen using stratified random sampling and goal-directed sampling methods for both the women and male managers. The determinations from the study revealed that women are indeed underrepresented in the management of Embu county learning institutions. There are several factors at the personal, institutional and societal levels forbidding qualified women from ascending to senior positions in colleges. At the personal level such factors as lack of sureness and fear of public office were found to be discouraging women from taking management positions. At the institutional level discriminative recruitment, appointment and promotion procedures, political appointments, ill-defined promotion criteria, absence of documented staff development policies for senior managers and few opportunities for further training affected women’s involvement in county learning institutions management. In addition, societal factors such as favoritism against female child education and general notions about women’s domestic role were identified as gnawing women’s self percept just as those women who succeeded in public domain were seen as failures in their domestic roles. The researcher contends that for women to be involved in county management learning institutions efficaciously some of these roadblocks must be removed, and proposes ways helpful to enhance women’s involvement.