Kenya has recorded a slight improvement in narrowing the gender gap, however full parity remains beyond the reach for another five generations, the World Economic Forum indicates.
Its Gender Gap Index 2024 rankings show the country has climbed two positions in the latest rankings, moving from 77th place last year to 75th.
This improvement is reflected in Kenya's score, which has increased from 0.708 to 0.712, signaling modest progress in closing the gender gap.
The number of firms with female majority ownership stands at 13.20 per cent, while firms with female top managers rose to 18.1 per cent.
Despite the improvement, 90.91 per cent of women are still in the informal sector, compared to 83.1 per cent of men.
“An estimated 8.07 per cent of unemployed adults in the labour force are women, compared to 4.11 per cent for men,” reads the report in part.
Despite these improvements, the country still faces significant challenges in achieving gender parity across various sectors.
The report further notes that a majority of the workers employed on a part-time basis are women who account for 49 per cent, compared to 33 per cent in men.
In the East African region, Kenya ranks fourth, trailing Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Namibia holds the top spot in Africa with an impressive score of 0.935, the highest on the continent.
The global ranking measures gender parity across four key areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
"Kenya's rise in the rankings indicates progress, but there remains substantial work to address the persistent inequalities that women and girls face in education, employment, and political representation," the report reads in part.
However, cultural norms and systemic barriers continue to pose significant challenges.
In Kenya, the gender pay gap reporting has been cast into the limelight in recent years, with investors and shareholders pushing for transparency and fairness in remuneration as part of sound corporate balance.
It has also been propelled by the ESG agenda where gender pay gaps are reported as an aspect of sustainable development.
In light of this, some companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange have opted to voluntarily disclose their gender pay equity measures.
The report notes that Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a gender parity score of 68.4 per cent. The region has advanced by an overall +5.6 percentage points since 2006.
While 21 out of 35 economies are in the top 100, Namibia stands out as a top 10 performer.
Over half of the countries in the region have closed over 70 per cent of their gender gap; however, the top and bottom ranks are divided by 22.8 percentage points.
Economic participation and opportunity stands at 68.1 per cent, with progress in labour-force participation and positive results in technical and professional roles.
Ranking last in educational attainment, Sub-Saharan Africa has the widest gap to close, with a score of 88.9 per cent.
Health and survival stands at 97.1 per cent, while political empowerment shows improvement at 22.6per cent, with notable strides in ministerial and parliamentary representation, particularly in Mozambique and South Africa.
