Barriers towards career development among women employees at workplace: Case study kerio valley development authority (KVDA)

In recent years, women and gender issues have become a major area of concern. Seminars, workshops and conference are being held over the world to discuss women issues and women advancement in all spheres of life. Although attitude towards the role of women as homemakers is shifting to being career people, a few women have made their way through the narrow corridors of authority to gradually climb up the management and leadership ladders. Most societies in Kenya have emphasized the role of women as housewife’s, mothers and unskilled laborers. A survey conducted by strategy and statistics (GOK 2001) in Kenya found out that women inclusion in labour market being blurred by great inequalities that exist between men and women in career development and employment opportunities. The survey noted that women have fewer job opportunities than men and are disproportionately found in lower paid and less prestigious occupations. Women in Kenya have minimal chances to advance career wise and only hold a small proportion of management positions, which are rarely in leadership positions. A case study research design was used in the study, where a case of KVDA was chosen from other public institutions in the country. The target population comprised of 678 general employees of KVDA. Questionnaires were used to collect data from a stratified and randomly selected sample size of 200 employees. The data collected was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative statistics and presented in frequency and percentage tables. From the study it was found out that promotion among women is low and also that training for women employees is minimal. The study found that African cultural practices are a great hindrance to the advancement of women career wise. The study recommends that organizations should strive to ensure that career development programs are set in organizations to enhance career development position of women employees.