Kenyan Women: Milestones and Challenges

Abstract

Numerous research studies have explored women’s underrepresentation in critical sectors of human socialization and occupations, ranging from cultural discriminations based on social beliefs, workplace environment, and to sporting arena (Schlesinger and Weigelt-Schlesinger, 2012). Global societies perceived gendered roles in multiple ways. The attribution of certain roles as belonging to women and men became stereotypical in many societies. In this context, Schlesinger and Weigelt-Schlesinger argue that “gender stereotypes are assumptions and beliefs about the characteristic qualities of men and women” (p. 58), which are accompanied by certain behavioral communicative expectations of men and women. Furthermore, “gender stereotypes are socially shared structures of knowledge, which are stored not so much as lists of properties but rather in a more structured way, as clusters (or dimensions) such as strength/weakness or activity/passivity” (p. 58). From a sociocultural perspective, “gender is a system of power relations” (Martinez et.al., 2010, p. 1) with symbols of power manifested in how women are relegated to lower cadres in sociological hierarchies. According to Robinson, “gender discrimination is imbedded in the social fabric, but also part of the statutory framework” (2014, p. 560).