Determinants of Female Labour Force Participation in Wage Employment: Evidence From Kenya

Abstract

This study set out to analyse the factors that determine female labour force participation in Kenya Using 2005106 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey data the study employs a logit model to estimate the labour force participation status of women with a view to identifying the intervening socioeconomic variables.

The study findings show that educated married women with bigger family members are more likely to engage in wage employment and women with children under the age of six are less likely to engage in wage employment. The study concludes that policies should be designed to ensure more women enroll in schools and that local social programs such as child care services could be designed to support females with children under six years of age.