| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to establish the challenges facing the implementation of gender
mainstreaming in selected government ministries. The study was carried out in Nairobi County
and had the following objectives: to assess the level of staff awareness on the implementation
of gender mainstreaming in selected government ministries, to examine the influence of
resource mobilization on the implementation of gender mainstreaming in selected government
ministries, to establish the influence of patriarchy systems on the implementation of gender
mainstreaming in selected government ministries, to determine the influence of policy
functionality on the implementation of gender mainstreaming in selected government
ministries. The target population of this study included employees and department heads in the
Ministry of Planning and Devolution and the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services.
The two ministries had a total population of 1100. A descriptive research design was adopted.
Simple random sampling, purposive sampling and stratified random sampling techniques were
used to select 92 respondents. The sample size was arrived at using the formula recommended
by Kothari (2003). The study made use of closed ended questionnaires and interview schedule
as instruments of data collection. Questionnaires collected data from employees while
interview schedule collected data from department heads. Reliability was established through
the split-half method. A pilot study was conducted in the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban
Development among 10 samples. Data was analyzed qualitatively through content analysis.
Quantitative data was first coded then analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social
Sciences) Version 17.0. After interpretation, the findings were presented in tables using
frequencies and percentages. The study found out that the government did very little to create
awareness among its employees on gender issues. There were also gaps in terms of resource
mobilization especially the allocation of human resources. It was further established that male
dominance is still evident in the ministries. Furthermore the study revealed that despite the
existence of policies, their functionality was still very low in terms of gender mainstreaming.
The study therefore concluded that gender mainstreaming still faces major challenges and
action was needed. Major recommendations were that; the government should equip
employees with knowledge and skills on gender mainstreaming, community sensitization
should be undertaken to change discriminatory cultural practices, adequate financial and
human resources should be allocated to gender mainstreaming, the government together with
other institutions should claim ownership of the gender mainstreaming process to ensure
sustainable resource mobilization and those in the policy and budgetary chain should be
educated to ensure gender sensitivity. Areas for further research work included a study on;
factors influencing policy formulation in gender mainstreaming, factors contributing to female
marginalization in projects, the impact of human resource allocation on gender mainstreaming.
This would highlight the issues underlying the failure of gender mainstreaming and inform
decision makers on the necessary action that is needed. | en_US |
