Kenya can be great with more women at the high table

I recently officiated the annual graduation ceremony of Kitui Institute of Development Studies. The excitement of the graduating students was palpable as they sat glorious in their flowing graduation gowns. My own thrill hit the roof when it turned out that the top five graduands were female. These young women had approached their studies with utter determination and were now reaping the rewards of hard work. But as I congratulated them, it occurred to me that even if they find jobs, their academic achievements might still not shield them from exploitation.

We live in a society that seems not to fully appreciate women even when their achievements tower above the rest. In 2015, a report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) revealed that only 14 per cent of total board membership comprised of women. The situation was worse in countries like Côte d’Ivoire, where women constitute only 5 per cent of total board membership. This sorry trend was confirmed here in Kenya two weeks ago by the Gender Equality in the Workplace Report. It revealed that women in Kenya account for only 23 per cent of board members. Further, the report laid bare the fact that there are only one in five women in managerial roles.

This bleak reality of gender imbalance in management extends beyond Kenya to most corners of the globe. According to the 2019 SDG Gender Index Report, Kenya’s gender equality scorecard of 26 per cent is actually ahead of the US’s 25 per cent.  This sorry state must change. However, political and policy changes alone cannot usher in lasting change. A case in point is Liberia. Despite having produced Africa’s first female president, this West African country still ranked among the last thirty countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2016 gender equality report. In addition to this, Liberia remains one of the few countries where FGM is still legal. This proves that lasting gender equality can only come through a paradigm shift in the way that we perceive and interact with women. How can it be business as usual when only 5 per cent of professional women make it to top management in Africa? Surely, we need to take a long, hard look at the mirror.

To all private firms in the country, how many women are on your board? To the boards of these companies, how many women are in managerial roles? To the national and county governments, why aren’t there more women in your cabinet? But most important, to the people of Kenya, be the change that you want to see. Women have earned their seats at the high table. Let us allow them to influence decisions not to yank them away.

Against this background, what then is the future of the five young ladies from Kitui and millions more who are in their shoes in this country? Their future lies squarely in the hands of Kenyans. It is they who can employ a qualified woman into top management; grant substantially more loans to women entrepreneurs; bequeath inheritance not just to their sons but also their daughters; cast a vote for a female president if they buy into her vision and policy proposals. Indeed, a woman’s gender should never, ever be an obstacle to her aspirations.  

Last year, research by the Peterson Institute for International Economics revealed that firms with women in managerial positions made more money. Can you therefore envision how a blameless woman president would sort out our ailing economy? It is therefore in our country’s best interest to ensure the successful ascension of women on the corporate and government ladders. We should also cultivate positive masculinity in the boy child so that he can nurture the gains of women.

By the way, it is my sincere opinion that the escalating domestic violence is merely a reflection of missing fathers in the lives of their sons and daughters at an early age. This pain builds up so that when children are growing they have an in built historical issue with men. In the process of proving innocence against a superficial threat, men mostly respond with violence. By promoting women, we men have an opportunity to take time and effort to reinvent and reengineer ourselves towards a Kenya that thinks and acts green.

– The writer is founder and chairperson, Green Africa Foundation. www.isaackalua.co.ke