Who is listening to working women?

Having been married for a year, Esther Maina welcomed her first son, Brian, into the world in September 2001. The joy of a newborn was, however, short-lived when her husband lost his job barely a month later.

"I had planned to resign from work myself. After Brian's birth, I would stay home and watch over him in his early years. But with my husband out of work, I had to apply for a job," recalls Esther.

She was ecstatic when an application went through. Months had passed and her son had grown to eight months – still fragile and yearning for the tenders of motherly love. The couple, however, had little choice. Esther's husband was yet to get back into employment and they had dug into their savings box to the rusty bottom.

Fate smiled at her and she smiled back. Sitting at her new desk she felt "a calm and gratefulness that surpassed the ordinary."

That's until her male boss turned antagonist. "He lacked respect for my status as a new mother and a wife. He insisted on odd working hours despite knowing that I had a young one to breastfeed and a husband to attend to," laments Esther.

Her hiring, apparently, was actually a replacement; an employee had left for maternity leave. "I ended up inheriting her docket and performed beyond my targets. But even that was not enough to soften my boss's heart to let me go back home in due time for my son's sake."

Since she needed the job, Esther resolved to endure the torment. She would at times have to attend evening events. So important was the business's success to her boss that he instructed every female employee to duly inform him of a pregnancy at the earliest possible time.

Hell broke loose when Esther conceived a second baby. "He asked me to abort the baby and even offered to pay for the procedure," recalls the mother of three. "I had known him as shrewd but I never realised the extent he would go. What audacity to pronounce death unto my child!"

Eventually, Esther had to quit. She says: "It was too much sacrifice for a monthly pay. The timelines were stretched; I spent very little time with my baby; the workload was humongous; I felt disrespected and undervalued."

An online survey conducted by Eve Woman in the course of last week, corroborates the pinch Esther and womenfolk in similar situations feel. The results show that nearly 74 per cent of the women who took the survey attested to finding themselves in a catch-22; where they had to choose between work and family. Sixty one per cent said they eventually had to make family 'adjustments' while 29 per cent left employment.

For a career woman, life goes from good to topsy-turvy when pregnancy comes, Esther comments. She is not the only one who shares these sentiments. Many a woman in Kenya feel afflicted. It may be worse for others like Stella Waithaka, who despite not being outrightly fired, are forced by circumstances to abandon work in favour of staying home with their children.

"The structures make it hard for a woman to enjoy her career," says the mother of two. "The responsibilities that come with womanhood are immense. If my boss allowed me flexible hours, or better yet, allowed me to work from home, I probably wouldn't have quit. I would love for the system to let me be – as a woman: The environment needs to recognize this and allow women to be."

When Stella cleared the three months of maternity leave, she went back to work but quickly realised she wouldn't stay for long. Six months later, despite boasting ten years of experience, she bid goodbye to what she had hoped would be a phenomenal career.

I blame the government," she says, adding, "In countries like Canada, women enjoy a full year of paid maternity leave. While our three months is better than nothing, our government is capable of better."

But on the flip-side, Stella plays the devil's advocate. I ask her if she was the employer what she would do. She retorts: "I wouldn't handle the female employees any differently. While I may feel their anguish, without proper incentives for businesses (like it is the situation in Kenya) my company will crumble. If I have to pay women who are on maternity leave, I may have to overwork them to earn back what I lost when they were away. The whole system disenfranchise women. It is more favourable for an employer to have a male employee. Ideally though, the job market should appreciate the diversity that women bring on board."

In a story first published by 'Fortune' magazine, Katharine Zaleski, a former boss at 'The Huffington Post' and then 'The Washington', all publications in United States, admitted to committing "a long list of infractions against mothers."

Though a woman herself, she obsessed over proving her worth at work that she loathed women who juggled motherhood, for she considered them 'not willing to take up careers'. Zaleski recently issued an apology in 'Fortune' magazine to all the women she tormented. This was after the birth of her own child, which made her realise the tough choices women have to make in life.

Forty three per cent of surveyed women said laws on maternity leave and working hours need the most urgent attention, followed by female specific maternal health issues with 22.2 per cent. Gender-based salary disparities was mentioned by19.4 per cent while 15.2 per cent believe they could do better if workplace was devoid of harassment.

Harriet Chiggai, a council member at the East African Law Society, believes, however, that Kenyan laws are sufficient to protect women's needs – both at home and at work. "Provisions of the Constitution direct that all women are deemed equal to men and deserving of equal treatment. If the law is applied as it is, then all the rights abuses against women at work would be unheard of."

Ms Chiggai does not refute the feeling that women face upheavals – ranging from misogynistic spats to sexual harassment – at their places of work. "The corporate culture is such that it does not support women's advancement. Women are rarely put at positions of decision-making at work," she says.

She does not think, however, that the law is toothless in tapping recourse for women. It is porous though and it is through the small spaces that abuse occurs, according to Stella. The survey shows that majority of women, 34.8 per cent, worry more about 'bad' laws. Sixty eight per cent place the blame squarely on the government for their career woes.

"But should it be this way?" Esther asks. But then again, who is there to answer her?