An Assessment of the Effect of Education and Mentorship Career Progression: A Study of Women Professionals in Nairobi

STUDENT: JOYCE ZAWADI MWAMBIRE

COURSE: MOD 6220 - ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH METHODS

LECTURER: DR. GEORGE K'AOL

ASSIGNMENT: CHAPTER 1, 2 &3 (RESEARCH PROPOSAL)

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION AND MENTORSHIP CAREER PROGRESSION: A STUDY OF WOMEN PROFESSIONALS IN NAIROBI

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background of the Problem

Women constitute a large portion of the ever increasing population and as such, it has become inevitable that they . In today's world, more women than previously recorded, are changing the face of the society and uplifting livelihoods of their families and the society as a whole (Stoner et al, 2003). This has mainly been attributed to the facilitation of the socio-economic empowerment of women with other factors holding constant.

In Nairobi, the changes are very evident especially where the Nairobi woman no longer to the care giver and home maker role as was previously the norm but rather, is now expected to play both the bread winner and home maker roles. The Nairobi woman is today more sophisticated and educated working along their partners to put food on the table..

In the recent past, the society was made to believe and view women as the lesser and more inferior gender which was justified by the roles played and positions held in the society. A woman's opinion has for the longest period not been recognized and remained debatable until an approval by a man was made while the male gender was shown to carry the authority and anything that a man said both in his home and in the society was not only final but also regarded with a lot of respect. Even in today's world, many sociologists and anthropologists maintain that various cultures have continued to portray girls as being naturally inferior to boys, an aspect that has not only continued to facilitate male chauvinism but also curtail the self-confidence of girls hindering their potential in various fields. Men have been viewed as being second to God while the women and children are viewed as the lesser groups of the society (Ireri, 2005).

According to a UNFP report as quoted by Ireri (2005; UNFP, 2004), "...man in Africa is a major decision maker. He determines everything that happens in the family. He is somebody everybody looks up to in the family. Even when his wife is working and earning income, she is still subject to the decision of the husband, to the will of the husband. Even if she makes more money than the man, she has to submit to the husband"

Gender inequality in education and training, the sex stereotyping of occupations and the undervaluing of women's work are among the obstacles faced by women in their endeavour to progress and uplift their lives (Stoner et al, 2003). This has resulted in various organizations that are focused on facilitating the efforts of the modern woman to enable her fit into the modern society and also attain her potential by minimizing the obstacles in her way.

This goes to explain the realm under which men have majorly progressed and hold most of the top cream jobs around in the social, political and economic spheres. In the recent past, various organizations and individuals have risen to protect and promote the rights of women in the society. In today's world, women have come to know their rights and gender equality has been sensitized in all spheres of life and the girl child is receiving more attention than has been the case before. This has had tremendous effects on the social status of women who are now rising to take up positions and obligations previously only believed to be manageable by men (Simpson and Altman, 2000). This has resulted in more and more households depending on women as the breadwinners.

Culture has often identified men predominately with public or work life and linked women to private and home life (Stoner et al, 2003). This is evidenced in many ways but especially by the virtual absence of women from the upper echelons of management in many organizations and societal levels of hierarchy. However, recent studies indicate that even the workforce is rapidly moving from being majorly male-dominated to one of equality in numbers between men and women.

The Kenyan task force on Education and Gender Equality (2005) came up with seven main areas that need to be addressed in order to meet the needs of the feminine gender in the world. They include strengthening opportunities for post primary education for girls while simultaneously meeting commitments to universal primary education, guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health rights, investing in infrastructure to reduce women's and girls' time burdens, guaranteeing women's property and inheritance rights, eliminating gender inequality in employment, closing gender gaps in earnings and reducing occupational segregation, increasing women's share of seats in national parliaments and local governmental bodies and combating violence against girls and women (Beardwell and Holden, 1997).

On the other hand, it has posed problems such as the rise of the extreme feminists who fight to eliminate the patriarchal society and with the same measure bringing down the interests of the boy child while advocating for the promotion of the interests of the girl child which pose a threat to the boy child in the future.

1.1.1 Women Empowerment

The concept of empowerment of women is related to gender equality but is also distinct from it. The core of empowerment lies in the ability of a woman to control her own destiny (Malhotra, Schuler and Boender, 2002). They continue to state that to be empowered, women must not only have equal capabilities such as education, health, equal access to resources and opportunities but also the power to make strategic choices and decisions through leadership opportunities and participation in political institutions which define their lives.

A recent study byKenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS),2008-2009 on women empowerment and demographic and health outcomes where data on the general background characteristics of women (e.g., age, education, wealth quintile, and employment status) and data on characteristics specific to women's empowerment status (e.g., receipt of cash earnings, magnitude of cash earnings, relative to those of a husband or partner, and control over cash earnings) was collected indicates rather an interesting twist to Ireri's (2005) study. The KDHS findings indicate that over sixty six (66%) percent of