Factors Affecting Women Career Mobility In Educational Management: A Comparative Study Of Public And Private Universities In Kenya

ABSTRACT

Women have lagged behind as far as equity in all spheres of life is concerned and their participation in education management relative to men decreases at successive higher levels. World Bank report on gender and development (2003) noted that the number of women holding management positions was lower than that of men. In Kenya traditionally, women were viewed as inferior to men and marginalized in all sectors of development, Chacha (2004). There was need to look at the position of women in university management in public and private universities in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors affecting women career mobility in educational management in public universities in comparison to the private universities in Kenya. The main objectives of the study were to; establish the management positions occupied by men and women in public universities in comparison to private universities in Kenya, analyze from a gender perspective, the university policies and their effect on women career mobility in educational management in public universities in comparison to private universities in Kenya, investigate how policies on recruitment and promotion affect the career mobility of women in public universities in comparison to private universities in Kenya, establish the challenges hindering women career mobility in public universities in comparison to private universities in Kenya and finally examine the interventions put in place by public and private universities to enhance women career mobility in public and private universities in Kenya. The findings of this study would fill knowledge gaps on women career mobility and provide policy guidelines on gender equity. The study was guided by survey research design. The data was collected from four public universities and three private chartered universities in Kenya. Instruments of data collection were women career mobility questionnaires, women career mobility indepth interview guides and document analysis guides. The instruments were tested for validity and reliability and then piloted. The population of the study was men and women in management positions. The target population comprised 1200 men and women in senior management positions that is, Vice Chancellors, deputy vice chancellors, deans of Faculties/Schools, registrars, and heads of departments in public and private universities in Kenya. Stratified random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used. The sample of the study comprised 74 men and 50 women from public universities and 115 men and 61 women from private universities in Kenya. In analyzing the data, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to compute the statistics and analyse the quantitative data. The findings of the study revealed that; women were under represented in university management in public and private universities in Kenya, there were more women in university management in public universities than in private universities in Kenya, Public and private universities had policies on recruitment and promotion but they were hardly implemented, women in public and private university management faced challenges like cultural stereotypes, lack of mentoring, lack of career and social networks, social and political factors that hindered their career mobility. The study further revealed that the interventions put in place by public and private universities to enhance women career mobility were not effective. The study recommends that men and women in university management be given equal opportunities during recruitment and promotion and implementation of legal frameworks and policies on recruitment and promotion and public and private universities put in place interventions that enhance women career mobility in university management in Kenya.