Understanding Gender Inequalities in Households: Anecdotal Encounters by Practitioners in Kenya and Tanzania
Corresponding Author(s) : Nancy Njiraini
Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS),
Vol. 10 No. 2 (2021): Special Issue on Gender I
Abstract
Women in developing countries face several challenges related to gender inequality
through experiences in limited access to education, labour market, and finances. Deeprooted social and cultural practices often devalue the notion of being a woman, and create
limitations for women’s life opportunities and personal empowerment. The overall
objective of this paper is to reflect on ways of effectively engaging with informal
settlement communities in Kenya and Tanzania, in a way that elicits information that is
useful to the community and to research. The paper is part of a larger research project
targeted at couples living in a household as participants, and identified workshops as a
useful approach in engaging with the targeted participants. To ensure the workshops
were designed in a practical manner, opinions of local practitioners were sought. This
paper reflects on those consultations, based on three key questions about the design,
structure, and modalities of the workshops. The methods used for the consultations were
interviews, which were held among 7 practitioners across the two countries. The findings
indicated that it was necessary to show sensitivity in the design and structure of the
workshops, as well as to ensure that the modalities should be open to discussions of
topics that were a priority to the participants. The paper concludes that the design,
structure, and modalities of workshops must bear in mind the sensitive nature of the
questions of discussion; and thus must ensure that questions are carefully structured and
aligned to a community’s cultural modalities.
Keywords
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- Aberman, N-L., J. Behrman & R. Birner. 2017. Gendered Perceptions of Power and Decision-Making
- in Rural Kenya. Development Policy Review, 36(4): 389–407.
- Anderson, C. L., T. W. Reynolds & K. M. Gugerty. 2016. Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm
- Household Decision-Making Authority and Evidence on Intra-Household Accord in Rural
- Tanzania. World Development, 90: 169–183.
- Ayub, W. K. & P. M. Nzomo. 2019. The Status of Compliance With the International Gender Related
- Legal Instruments in Africa: A Case Study of Kenya. International Journal of Recent Innovations in
- Academic Research, 3(3): 1–5.
- Canagarajah, R. S. & W. Bank. 2003. Gender and Growth in Africa: Evidence and Issues. Africa, 1–18.
- Chiuri, W. 2008. Men’s Role in Persistent Rural Poverty: Lessons from Kenya. Masculinities in
- Contemporary Africa, 163–176.
- Dillip, A., Z. M. Mboma, G. Greer & L. M. Lorenz. 2018. To Be Honest, Women Do Everything:
- Understanding Roles of Men and Women in Net Care and Repair in Southern Tanzania. Malaria
- Journal, 17(1): 1–8.
- Dolan, C. & K. Sutherland. 2002. Gender and Employment in the Kenya Horticulture Value Chain.
- Globalisation and Poverty Discussion Paper, 1–43.
- England, P. 2010. The Gender Revolution: Uneven and Stalled. Gender and Society, 24(2): 149–166.
- Feinstein, S., R. Feinstein & S. Sabrow. 2011. Gender Inequality in the Division of Household Labour
- in Tanzania. African Sociological Review/Revue Africaine De Sociologie, 14(2): 98–109.
- Flick, U. 1998. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publications.
- Fratkin, E. & K. Smith. 1995. Women’s Changing Economic Roles With Pastoral Sedentarization:
- Varying Strategies in Alternate Rendille Communities. Human Ecology, 23(4): 433–454.
- Heckert, J. & M. S. Fabic. 2013. Improving Data Concerning Women’s Empowerment in Sub-Saharan
- Africa. Studies in Family Planning, 44(3): 319–344.
- Jalloh, A. 2014. The United Nations Commission: Leisure and the Millennium Development Goals.
- World Leisure Journal, 56(4): 324–337.
- Johannes, E. 2010. Women’s Education in Sub -Saharan Africa: Obstacles Facing Women and Girls
- Access to Education: The Case of Kenya. 1(2): 57–72.
- Johnson, S. 2004. Gender Norms in Financial Markets: Evidence from Kenya. World Development,
- (8): 1355–1374.
- Kamau, P. W., E. Kimani & G. Wamue-Ngare. 2014. Gender Relations in Access to Micro Finance
- Resources Among Women in Kiharu Constituency, Murang’a County, Kenya. Prime Research on
- Education, 4(5): 717–722.
- Kato, M. P. & J. Kratzer. 2013. Empowering Women Through Microfinance: Evidence from Tanzania.
- Journal of Entrepreneurship Perspectives, 2(1): 31–59.
- Klasen, S. 2002. Low Schooling for Girls, Slower Growth for All? Cross-Country Evidence on the
- Effect of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Development. World Bank Economic
- Review, 16(3): 345–373.
- Maina, L. W. & E. Kimani,2019. Gendered Patterns of Unpaid Care and Domestic Work in the Urban
- Informal Settlements of Nairobi, Kenya: Findings from a Household Care Survey-2019. Retrived on
- /10/2020 from https://doi.org/10.21201/2019.5068.
- Manson, J. 2002. Qualitative Researching. 2
- nd Edition. London Sage Publications.
- Matsue, N., T. Daw & L. Garrett. 2015. Women Fish Traders on the Kenyan Coast: Livelihoods,
- Bargaining Power & Participation in Management. Coastal Management, 42(6). Retrived on
- /10/20, from https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2014.964819.
- Meena, R. 1996. Situational Analysis of Education of Girls/Women in Tanzania. Utafiti, 3(2): 39–90.
- Merriam, S. B. 1988. Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. San Francisco: JosseyBass Publishers.
- Mulongo, G. 2013. Inequality in Accessing Higher Education in Kenya: Implications for Economic
- Development and Well-Being. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(16): 1–13.
- Mwobobia, F. M. 2012. The Challenges Facing Small-Scale Women Entrepreneurs: A Case of Kenya.
- International Journal of Business Administration, 3(2): 112–121.
- Nadvi, L (2009. Gender Approaches to Poverty Reduction in Informal Settlements in South Africa:
- Some Perspectives from the Social Movements Indaba—KZN. Agenda, Empowering Women for
- Gender Equity, 25(81): 80–89.
- Ndemo and Maina. 2007. Women Entrepreneurs and Strategic Decision Making. Management
- Decision, 45: 118–130.
- Ngware, M. W., E. N. Onsomu, D. I. Muthaka & D. K. Manda. 2006. Improving Access to Secondary
- Education in Kenya: What Can Be Done? Equal Opportunities International, 25(7): 523–543.
- Njelekela, M. A., R. Mpembeni, A. Muhihi, N. L. Mligiliche, D. Spiegelman, E. Hertzmark, E. Liu, ….
- & J. Mtabaji. 2009. Gender-Related Differences in the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk
- Factors and Their Correlates in Urban Tanzania. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 9: 1–8.
- Oketch, M. & C. Rolleston. 2007. Policies on Free Primary and Secondary Education in East Africa: A
- Review of the Literature. Create Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 10. Retrieved on
- /11/2020. from: http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf_documents/pta10.pdf.
- Omer, S. W., P. Raburu & J. Ajowi. 2017. Gender Biases Against Women in Labor Division in Kenya’s
- Ministry of Education. American Journal of Sociological Research, 7(1): 33–38.
- Onsongo, J. 2009. Affirmative Action, Gender Equity and University Admissions–Kenya, Uganda and
- Tanzania. London Review of Education, 7(1): 71–81.
- Oxfam Policy. 2020. Unlocking Sustainable Development in Africa By Addressing Unpaid Care and Domestic
- Work, Oxfam Policy Brief, February 2020. Retrieved on 09/11/2020 From: https://oxfamilibrary.
- openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/620939/bp-sustainable-development-africa-ucdw030220–en.pdf.
- Parry, D. 2013. Women’s Mental Health and the Power of Leisure. In V. J. Freysinger, S. M. Shaw, K.
- A. Henderson & M. D. Bialeschki (eds.). Leisure, Women and Gender. Urbana: Venture Publishing,
- Inc., pp. 215–228.
- Ritchie, J. 2003. The Applications of Qualitative Methods to Social Science. In: J. Richie & J. Lewis
- (eds.). Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. London:
- Sage Publications, 24–46.
- Shabaya, J. & K. K. Agyemang. 2004. Unequal Access, Unequal Participation: Some Spatial and SocioEconomic Dimensions of the Gender Gap in Education in Africa With Special Reference to
- Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 36(4):
- –424.
- Sifuna, D. N. 2006. A Review of Major Obstacles to Women’s Kenya. December 2014, 37–41. Retrived
- on 09/11/2020, from https://doi.org/10.1080/13596740500507995.
- Tsikata, D. 2009. Gender, Land and Labour Relations and Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa in the
- Era of Economic Liberalisation: Towards a Research Agenda. Feminist Africa, 12.
- UNESCO. 2009. Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education - One Year On. 2009–2010.
- UNHCR. 2017. Out of School Children Assessment. March, 1–52.
- UNDP. 2020. Human Development Reports. Retrieved on 09/04/2021 from http://hdr.undp.org/ en/
- composite/gii.
- —. 2016. Africa Human Development Report 2016: Accelerating Gender Equality and Women’s
- Empowerment in Africa. Retrieved on 26/03/2020 from http://hdr.undp. org/sites/default/ files/
- afhdr_2016_lowres_en.pdf.
- United Nations. 2015. The Millennium Development Goals Report. United Nations, 72. Retrived on
- /03/2020, from https://doi.org/978–92–1–101320–7.
- —. 2019. ECOSOC–Economic and Social Council. A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations, 07404
- (May). Retrieved on 09/04/2021 from: https://doi.org/ 10.1163/ ej.9789 004180 048.i-962.115.
- Wambugu, A. 2011. The Effects of Educational Attainment on Employment Outcomes in Kenya.
- International Journal of Education Administration and Policy Studies, 3(7): 94–102.
- Wellington, J. & M. Szczerbinski. 2007. Research Methods for Social Sciences. London: Continuum
- International Publishing Group.
- World Economic Forum. 2018. The Global Gender Gap Report 2018. Retrieved on 23/03/2020, From:
- http://www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_gggr_2018.pdf.
- Zandy, J. 2019. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Radical Teacher, 113: 54–55
References
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in Rural Kenya. Development Policy Review, 36(4): 389–407.
Anderson, C. L., T. W. Reynolds & K. M. Gugerty. 2016. Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm
Household Decision-Making Authority and Evidence on Intra-Household Accord in Rural
Tanzania. World Development, 90: 169–183.
Ayub, W. K. & P. M. Nzomo. 2019. The Status of Compliance With the International Gender Related
Legal Instruments in Africa: A Case Study of Kenya. International Journal of Recent Innovations in
Academic Research, 3(3): 1–5.
Canagarajah, R. S. & W. Bank. 2003. Gender and Growth in Africa: Evidence and Issues. Africa, 1–18.
Chiuri, W. 2008. Men’s Role in Persistent Rural Poverty: Lessons from Kenya. Masculinities in
Contemporary Africa, 163–176.
Dillip, A., Z. M. Mboma, G. Greer & L. M. Lorenz. 2018. To Be Honest, Women Do Everything:
Understanding Roles of Men and Women in Net Care and Repair in Southern Tanzania. Malaria
Journal, 17(1): 1–8.
Dolan, C. & K. Sutherland. 2002. Gender and Employment in the Kenya Horticulture Value Chain.
Globalisation and Poverty Discussion Paper, 1–43.
England, P. 2010. The Gender Revolution: Uneven and Stalled. Gender and Society, 24(2): 149–166.
Feinstein, S., R. Feinstein & S. Sabrow. 2011. Gender Inequality in the Division of Household Labour
in Tanzania. African Sociological Review/Revue Africaine De Sociologie, 14(2): 98–109.
Flick, U. 1998. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publications.
Fratkin, E. & K. Smith. 1995. Women’s Changing Economic Roles With Pastoral Sedentarization:
Varying Strategies in Alternate Rendille Communities. Human Ecology, 23(4): 433–454.
Heckert, J. & M. S. Fabic. 2013. Improving Data Concerning Women’s Empowerment in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Studies in Family Planning, 44(3): 319–344.
Jalloh, A. 2014. The United Nations Commission: Leisure and the Millennium Development Goals.
World Leisure Journal, 56(4): 324–337.
Johannes, E. 2010. Women’s Education in Sub -Saharan Africa: Obstacles Facing Women and Girls
Access to Education: The Case of Kenya. 1(2): 57–72.
Johnson, S. 2004. Gender Norms in Financial Markets: Evidence from Kenya. World Development,
(8): 1355–1374.
Kamau, P. W., E. Kimani & G. Wamue-Ngare. 2014. Gender Relations in Access to Micro Finance
Resources Among Women in Kiharu Constituency, Murang’a County, Kenya. Prime Research on
Education, 4(5): 717–722.
Kato, M. P. & J. Kratzer. 2013. Empowering Women Through Microfinance: Evidence from Tanzania.
Journal of Entrepreneurship Perspectives, 2(1): 31–59.
Klasen, S. 2002. Low Schooling for Girls, Slower Growth for All? Cross-Country Evidence on the
Effect of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Development. World Bank Economic
Review, 16(3): 345–373.
Maina, L. W. & E. Kimani,2019. Gendered Patterns of Unpaid Care and Domestic Work in the Urban
Informal Settlements of Nairobi, Kenya: Findings from a Household Care Survey-2019. Retrived on
/10/2020 from https://doi.org/10.21201/2019.5068.
Manson, J. 2002. Qualitative Researching. 2
nd Edition. London Sage Publications.
Matsue, N., T. Daw & L. Garrett. 2015. Women Fish Traders on the Kenyan Coast: Livelihoods,
Bargaining Power & Participation in Management. Coastal Management, 42(6). Retrived on
/10/20, from https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2014.964819.
Meena, R. 1996. Situational Analysis of Education of Girls/Women in Tanzania. Utafiti, 3(2): 39–90.
Merriam, S. B. 1988. Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. San Francisco: JosseyBass Publishers.
Mulongo, G. 2013. Inequality in Accessing Higher Education in Kenya: Implications for Economic
Development and Well-Being. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(16): 1–13.
Mwobobia, F. M. 2012. The Challenges Facing Small-Scale Women Entrepreneurs: A Case of Kenya.
International Journal of Business Administration, 3(2): 112–121.
Nadvi, L (2009. Gender Approaches to Poverty Reduction in Informal Settlements in South Africa:
Some Perspectives from the Social Movements Indaba—KZN. Agenda, Empowering Women for
Gender Equity, 25(81): 80–89.
Ndemo and Maina. 2007. Women Entrepreneurs and Strategic Decision Making. Management
Decision, 45: 118–130.
Ngware, M. W., E. N. Onsomu, D. I. Muthaka & D. K. Manda. 2006. Improving Access to Secondary
Education in Kenya: What Can Be Done? Equal Opportunities International, 25(7): 523–543.
Njelekela, M. A., R. Mpembeni, A. Muhihi, N. L. Mligiliche, D. Spiegelman, E. Hertzmark, E. Liu, ….
& J. Mtabaji. 2009. Gender-Related Differences in the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Factors and Their Correlates in Urban Tanzania. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 9: 1–8.
Oketch, M. & C. Rolleston. 2007. Policies on Free Primary and Secondary Education in East Africa: A
Review of the Literature. Create Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 10. Retrieved on
/11/2020. from: http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf_documents/pta10.pdf.
Omer, S. W., P. Raburu & J. Ajowi. 2017. Gender Biases Against Women in Labor Division in Kenya’s
Ministry of Education. American Journal of Sociological Research, 7(1): 33–38.
Onsongo, J. 2009. Affirmative Action, Gender Equity and University Admissions–Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania. London Review of Education, 7(1): 71–81.
Oxfam Policy. 2020. Unlocking Sustainable Development in Africa By Addressing Unpaid Care and Domestic
Work, Oxfam Policy Brief, February 2020. Retrieved on 09/11/2020 From: https://oxfamilibrary.
openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/620939/bp-sustainable-development-africa-ucdw030220–en.pdf.
Parry, D. 2013. Women’s Mental Health and the Power of Leisure. In V. J. Freysinger, S. M. Shaw, K.
A. Henderson & M. D. Bialeschki (eds.). Leisure, Women and Gender. Urbana: Venture Publishing,
Inc., pp. 215–228.
Ritchie, J. 2003. The Applications of Qualitative Methods to Social Science. In: J. Richie & J. Lewis
(eds.). Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. London:
Sage Publications, 24–46.
Shabaya, J. & K. K. Agyemang. 2004. Unequal Access, Unequal Participation: Some Spatial and SocioEconomic Dimensions of the Gender Gap in Education in Africa With Special Reference to
Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 36(4):
–424.
Sifuna, D. N. 2006. A Review of Major Obstacles to Women’s Kenya. December 2014, 37–41. Retrived
on 09/11/2020, from https://doi.org/10.1080/13596740500507995.
Tsikata, D. 2009. Gender, Land and Labour Relations and Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa in the
Era of Economic Liberalisation: Towards a Research Agenda. Feminist Africa, 12.
UNESCO. 2009. Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education - One Year On. 2009–2010.
UNHCR. 2017. Out of School Children Assessment. March, 1–52.
UNDP. 2020. Human Development Reports. Retrieved on 09/04/2021 from http://hdr.undp.org/ en/
composite/gii.
—. 2016. Africa Human Development Report 2016: Accelerating Gender Equality and Women’s
Empowerment in Africa. Retrieved on 26/03/2020 from http://hdr.undp. org/sites/default/ files/
afhdr_2016_lowres_en.pdf.
United Nations. 2015. The Millennium Development Goals Report. United Nations, 72. Retrived on
/03/2020, from https://doi.org/978–92–1–101320–7.
—. 2019. ECOSOC–Economic and Social Council. A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations, 07404
(May). Retrieved on 09/04/2021 from: https://doi.org/ 10.1163/ ej.9789 004180 048.i-962.115.
Wambugu, A. 2011. The Effects of Educational Attainment on Employment Outcomes in Kenya.
International Journal of Education Administration and Policy Studies, 3(7): 94–102.
Wellington, J. & M. Szczerbinski. 2007. Research Methods for Social Sciences. London: Continuum
International Publishing Group.
World Economic Forum. 2018. The Global Gender Gap Report 2018. Retrieved on 23/03/2020, From:
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_gggr_2018.pdf.
Zandy, J. 2019. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Radical Teacher, 113: 54–55