Socio-Economic Background and Career Choice among Women in Leadership Position in Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Women's participation in all sectors of development in Kenya has been lagging behind and this has been attributed to factors which are socio-cultural, economic, political, educational and legal in nature.  The study sought to establish the socio-economic background of women in university leadership and women representation in leadership participation in public and private universities.  Descriptive research design was used.  Women in various leadership positions in both private and public universities.  Purposive sampling was used to sample eighty (80) women in positions of leadership.  Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect the data.  Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to analyze the data.  Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages and means were used to analyze the data. The study established that most of the women holding leadership positions in both private and public universities were over 40 years of age.  Further, those women over 40 years of age and above formed a total of 59%.  The women who were in leadership position at university are those who had managed to swim against the stereotypes that surround the female gender.  The study recommended that University Council and the Ministry of Higher Education need to ensure that the participation of women in universities is enhanced through increased admission, retention and completion rates of women into graduate programs.