Women with children under the age of five are less likely to access decent work.
This is according to a new study on the barriers that hinder women’s participation in decent work.
The report found out that women with young children (0-5 years), are three per cent less likely to participate in decent work activities, with social norms that place much of the caring responsibility on women, especially in rural areas, limiting women further.
“Women in Kenya generally do not have access to quality and affordable childcare services that would allow them to seek and hold decent jobs,” said Dr Phyllis Mumia Machio, the lead researcher from the University of Nairobi.
The research released on Monday, noted other barriers such as the lack of higher education, and a high share of informal sector work placed on women.
Decent work was measured using seven indicators which included earning minimum wage, decent working time, paid annual leave, employer contribution to social security, employer contribution to health insurance, trade union membership, and presence of a written employment contract.
The report indicated that the majority of women (57%) and almost half of men (48%) hold jobs that do not meet any of the seven decent work indicators.
Only one per cent of women and two per cent of men hold jobs that meet all of the seven decent work indicators.
In addition, men are more likely to hold jobs that meet some (between two and six) of the indicators than women.
The research was carried out by researchers drawn from the University of Nairobi and relevant government entities.
It classified the modern wage sector as the entire public sector as well as private enterprises and institutions that are formal in terms of registration, taxation and official recording.
Prof Anthony Wambugu, a researcher on the project from the University of Nairobi, noted the limitation to sufficient laws to protect women against workplace discrimination, their implementation and enforcement.
“The reality is that there are not enough resources to support labour causes. Also, corruption, lack of goodwill and high implementation costs for companies’ hampers execution. Plus, workers are not aware of their labour rights, and the costs of redress are too costly for most,” Wambugu said.
The research recommended that the government should scale up higher education loan programmes to encourage more tertiary education.
“The government should also provide public childcare and regulate and subsidise private childcare services, and support businesses created through government programmes to remain formal,” the report read.
In a stakeholders meeting to discuss the findings, participants noted that formalisation of the economy would also require the creation of an enabling environment for the private businesses to thrive.
Prof Damiano Kulundu Manda from the University of Nairobi, said it is notable that of the existing jobs in Kenya, less than half are decent.
“We need to start by creating decent jobs. Without doing that we will train people until university level only for them to get no work. The majority of jobs are in the informal sector. We need to ask ourselves how we can improve the informal sector first,” he said.
Florence Chemutai, the Deputy Director of the State Department for Gender, said they were developing the National Care Policy to provide a comprehensive framework for mitigating issues of unpaid care and domestic work as well as other care matters.
This is in order to address the issue of safe, secure and affordable childcare.