Barriers to female youth employment in the private formal sector

Abstract

Female youths in Kenya account for the majority of the unemployed youths compared to their male counterparts and are mainly engaged in the informal sector, which is precarious in nature. Access to formal employment characterized by stable working conditions has remained a major challenge to majority of young women in Kenya. Despite this fact, existing literature does not highlight the possible barriers that hinder young women from accessing formal job opportunities. It is against this background that this study sought to investigate the barriers to female youth employment in Kenya’s private formal sector, which is a major creator of formal jobs in Kenya. The study’s specific objectives were as follows: (i) to examine the characteristics of the targeted female youths in Kawangware and East Kanyada locations. (ii) to analyze how the characteristics of the female youths constrain them from accessing formal employment in Kenya’s private sector. (iii) to examine how labour market institutions restrict female youths from accessing formal employment in Kenya’s private sector. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research techniques in order to address its objectives adequately. Quantitative data was collected using a survey while qualitative data was collected using key informant interviews. The findings revealed that the respondents had limited human capital skills in terms of training and work experience which hindered them from being competitive in the formal labour market. In addition, the existing institutions in the private sector organizations where the respondents weredrawn from were also found to be limiting female youths’ access to formalemployment. The study therefore recommends that the government should adopt more measures to promote post secondary schooling for female youths in technical/science fields as well as arts and humanities and to collaborate with the private sector in order to create programs aimed at enhancing access to labour market information as well as adopting flexible working conditions for female employees