Outsiders Within: Experiences of Women Academics in Kenya

Abstract

Earlier studies on women’s education in Kenya, including Kinyanjui (1978), Maleche (1976), and Eshiwani (1985), all seem to agree that the number of female students drastically thins out as one ascends the educational ladder, girls perform more poorly than boys in science subjects, have low educational aspirations, are grossly underrepresented in higher education particularly in the university. Available statistics show that even fewer women have access to the graduate level. For example, during the 1989/90 academic year at Kenyatta University, 227 of the students admitted to graduate programs, only 54 (4.2 percent) were women. These figures are important because it is from this insignificant pool of graduates that academic women will be drawn. This reveals that women’s chances of getting a research or teaching post at the university level are very limited. It should be noted that although increasing enrollment and hiring of women at all levels of the educational systems is important, it should not be confused with equality. Evidence gleaned from literature shows that even in countries where equality of access is achieved, approximated or more women become segregated into distinct areas of study. This sex differentiation of the curriculum constitutes a major mechanism in reproducing sexual division in labor, particularly at the professional level.