Workplace Inclusivity: Social-cultural Hindrances To Women In Public Primary School Leadership Of Makueni County, Kenya

Abstract

The issue of women inclusivity in top leadership positions in organizations has attracted scholarly interests globally. This is evidenced by limited women representation in political offices, administrative areas, influential businesses, and management of schools. While gender is just one of the variables for assessing inclusivity at the workplace, it is the most unbalanced variable for leadership in workplaces. This has persisted despite the many years of gender activism worldwide. Any unequal society cannot boast of quality in its education system. This study sought to assess, “Social-Cultural hindrances to women in school leadership of Makueni County, Kenya.” The main factors here were sex stereotypes, gender roles, house hold chores and also girls’ early marriages. The study adopted across-sectional survey design and was guided by liberal feminist theory as proposed by Bryson (1999).The total population of the study was 1012 participants. The researcher used stratified, purposive and simple random sampling to get the simple size of 132 participants. Data was obtained using questionnaires and interview Schedule. The researcher pilot tested the instruments to check on their comprehensiveness. Content validity was determined through expert judgment. Reliability of questionnaires was tested using internal consistency method and a Cronbach Alpha of 0.6 was considered sufficient. Quantitative data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.Statistics used were frequencies and percentages yielding to tables and charts. Qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis and results presented in narrations and verbatim quotations. Findings indicated that stereotype against women and domestic chores were the main social-cultural hindrances to women in public primary school leadership in Makueni County, Kenya. The study recommends that the government of Kenya through Ministry Of Education in conjunction with the Teachers Service Commission to craft an affirmative action for inclusion of female teachers to school leadership in Makueni County; and Makueni county government to hold campaigns against gender stereotypes and biasness in order to have more women included in the leadership of public primary schools.