Towards an Improvement of Women’s Representation in Primary Schools Leadership Positions in Eldoret Municipality, Kenya

Abstract

In both developing and developed countries, women continue to be under-represented in decision-making and leadership in several areas. The consequence of this gender gap is that women do not participate fully in decisions that shape their lives and their communities and countries are not capitalizing on the full potential of one half of their societies. This paper examines a number of factors needed in improving female teachers’ participation in leadership positions based on a study conducted in Eldoret Municipality, Kenya. The study was a descriptive survey that used both quantitative and qualitative techniques. It involved a sample of 105 respondents where 2 Municipal Education Officials (TAC tutors), 8 head teachers, 80 teachers and 15 committee members were purposely selected from 15 randomly selected public primary schools in the Municipality. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedule and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies, percentage and Chi-square (X²) were employed in the analysis. The findings indicated that there were important issues which could be used to improve female teacher participation to headship positions in order to reduce inequalities. Some of these factors included strengthening mentor system, eliminating gender stereo type and ensuring that there was frequent training on leadership skills. It was thus recommended that policy options be formulated to mitigate the marginalization of women from the family level to national level. The study is significant both to scholars as well as policy-makers in the government, among other agents, as it raises issues on the need to create gender awareness and promote equality in leadership positions.