Mainstreaming Gender in All Government Programmes

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MEMORANDUM

To: the cabinet

From: minister, gender & sports Date: 15th dec. 2002

REF: MAINSTREAMING GENDER IN ALL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES

The term gender in its simple formulation encompasses both the male and

female divide. By definition, gender refers to culturally constructed notions of maleness

and femaleness as distinctively opposed to biologically defined male and female sex.

Gender is a broad analytic concept which highlights womens roles and responsibilities

in relation to those of men. (a subject of some special interest to social scientists and

educational researchers has been the relationship between gender and human interactional

activities.)

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There is still a discrepancy between political will and reality in gender

mainstreaming in Kenya and Africa as a continent. To combat this, the government will

have to;

a) Promote gender equality among young parents in sharing the responsibility for the

small children - through making changes in the parental leave insurance.

b) find ways to fight violence against women, including abusing the human rights by

forcing them into arranged marriages

c) To increase women's participation in politics, not only in formal political

structures but also the civic engagement in politics.

d) To strengthen gender-awareness and capacities among both women and men

politicians and civil servants.

1 T.O. Ojienda


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e) To deliver services that addresses the specific needs and interests of women and

men in the community, which requires engendered economic development,

development planning and resources allocation.

f) To create awareness of womens rights.

My government is going to tackle the following In three key factors in its aim

towards achieving substantive gender equality in economic development;

i) Availing sex disaggregated statistical data on economic performance, which

will facilitate assessment of mens and womens contribution to the impact on

the economy.

ii) Mainstreaming of gender issues into economic development policies, rather

than having gender-specific policies; and

iii) Implementation of measures that support all disadvantaged groups, not just

women, in having equal access to resources.

Based on the fact that in Kenya, womens rights to inherit and own property have

been a subject of discussion on the continent on fact that Widows are faced with hard

times following the demise of their spouses. They are not able to exercise their rights

because customary laws have premium over statutory ones in many countries despite

international conventions and declarations. To this end my government will spear head

amendments to the constitution to empower women in their claims over marital property.

My government appreciates that equality between men and women is enshrined in the

Constitution of this republic. Legally, men and women have the freedom to do business

and share equal rights in the areas of property ownership, land tenure, entering into

contracts, inheritance, and civil transactions. However, as in many other countries, due to

both historical and cultural reasons, women entrepreneurs in Kenya tend to be

disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to actually exercising their legal rights.

My office is recently handed to the A.G. a draft Law on Gender quality which

outlines the basic principles of gender quality, not only in general but in specific areas,

including business and professional development. Specifically, the law affirms that men

and women who start and develop businesses, cooperatives, and household economic

activities must receive equal opportunities and face the same conditions for accessing

funding, resources and markets, and tax incentive policies. The law also introduces a


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number of affirmative measures aimed to narrow the gender gap, including training

opportunities for women. Most importantly, the law aims to establish an effective

mechanism for the enforcement of gender equality in society. Finally, the law provides

that all future legislation and policies be evaluated for potential gender impact before

being passed

My government is further calling upon managers to aspire and proclaim

themselves as emperors if they are to rid the country of rampant poverty and gender

inequality. We further advise managers to exude confidence and to believe in themselves,

as this will help them to lead from the "frontline of troops" in bringing about racial and

gender changes in the country's business environment. International research shows that

countries that invest in women's enterprise development and implement policies to

promote their growth not only witness greater numbers of women owned firms and a

growth in the share of these firms as compared to national averages, but also benefit from

stronger national economies overall.2

My government shall further embark on a campaign aimed at empowering and

encouraging more women to become involved in the private sector can have a significant

and positive impact on the country's already dynamic economic performance, which has

proven to be an important force in alleviating poverty. This will backed by incentives

towards the same.

Out of the apparent often heavy workload on women's paid and unpaid work,

which my government perceives as a barrier to their ability to take part in decision

making. The Local have been imposed the role to providing affordable, professional and

safe care services for children, older people and people with disabilities, be that directly

or in partnership with the private or the voluntary sectors, and in promoting the sharing of

household tasks by women and men on an equal basis. Men have the equal right and

responsibility to care for their children and relatives and should be encouraged to do so.

My Government has also earmarked Ksh. 16 million for between 2002 and 2004

which resource centers for women can apply for in order to begin projects for growth-

2A. Lundstrom and Stevenson, L., On the Road to Entrepreneurship Policy, Swedish Foundation for SmallBusiness Research, 2002.


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oriented regional development activities. State funds have been granted on the condition

that at least 50 per cent is financed by other regional or local funds. The Government

argues that, with this set-up, other investors - traditional participants - will learn to handle

projects that focus on women.

Lastly my government has come up with some proposed Institutional factors

related to the political system with examples with regard to voting being:

1. Registration procedures (cultural norms and values may prohibit women from

having a photograph taken for voter registration cards or from showing their face

to male officers in polling boots, prevent women from voting).

2. Voting procedures (if the elections are not secret women may be controlled by

their husbands), accessibility of polling stations (in general women are less free to

move around).

3. Civic education (women have got less education and are usually less informed

about the electoral process, the meaning of elections and the right to vote).

and with regard to nomination and election being;

1. In the selection criteria: the high level of education, the membership of certain

professions, as well as party activism and service, are easier to deal with for

men.

2. Women are not involved in systems as patronage and clientelism; systems that

bring people in decision-making positions.

3. Another important factor is the selection process and the electoral and

political system. Important criteria in systems dealing with individual

candidates (rather than party lists) are popularity with opinion leaders, right

family connections and sufficient funds. These criteria are more difficult to

obtain by women.

4. Preferential voting can be an advantage for women candidates.

5. Important is whether there are specific policies to increase womens

participation (reserved seats, quotas).

6. The political climate is often characterized by aggressiveness, competitiveness

and discrimination or intimidation of women, discouraging many women to

enter politics or to continue once they have come involved in it.


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Mainstreaming Gender in All Government Programmes