| dc.description.abstract | Given that women form more than half of the Kenyan population; their low participation in politics means that the needs and interests of more than half of the population are not being prioritized in national development. The purpose of the study is to establish the influence of social economic status on aspiration of women for political leadership in Kenya (a Case of Kanduyi Constituency, Bungoma County). The objectives of the study were: to establish the influence of education levels, income levels, gender stereotypes and multiple roles'of women on their aspiration for political leadership. The study adopted a descriptive survey design that was carried out in Kanduyi Constituency, Bungoma County. The study population comprised 476 (472 women aspirants and leaders of political parties and 4 officials from government and civil society). The study dealt with a sample population of 218 respondents. The instruments of data collection were questionnaires and interview guide. Reliability of the instruments was determined by piloting the instruments in neighboring Bumula constituency. Validity of the instruments was enhanced by requesting the experts in the area of Research Methods at the University of Nairobi to examine content validity. Data was collected, coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics aided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Data was presented using tables of frequencies and percentages. Key findings revealed that that age was an issue in women political leadership positions as most women who participated in political leadership were mature and elderly as young women tend to shy off due to family responsibilities, less income and do not want to take risk with their careers. It was also found that low level of income was the most important factor hindering women from aspiring for political office in Kanduyi .Constituency. Balancing multiple roles of women was reported to 'be a big factor in determining whether women could join politics. Women are affected by family chores and cultural stereotyping and their dual roles in reproductive and productive work hampers their participation. The study concluded that most women are discouraged in fully participating in political leadership due to their low socio-economic status (low education, low income, heavy domestic work load and gender stereotyping (sometimes characterized with violence and abusive language).
The study recommended that the government needs to strengthen policies on women involvement in political leadership, women empowerment with economic resources and awareness and training programmes on gender issues, to encourage women to fully pick political leadership as a career. This study was restricted to Political Women Aspirants in Kanduyi constituency; the researcher recommends that another study be carried out in other categories of political leaders in Bungoma County. Also a thorough study needs to be carried out on the role of the government in promoting women participation in political party leadership as stipulated in the constitution of Kenya and an in depth study needs to be carried out about the effect of sociocultural issues and gender stereotyping in shaping women's decisions about their participation in Bungoma County, after the current constitution has been fully. implemented. | en_US |
