Women in politics : gender dynamics in Kenyan national politics

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to address the research question, what are the perceptions of women's representation in political leadership in Kenya? This topic touches largely on elements of identity as being a big part of the attitudes that are adopted either towards leadership or support female leaders. In many ways, they become central to the development of ways in which improvements can be made. Studies around this topic focus on gender and gender roles as important parts of the discussion with a look at conversation about cultural identity. By definition, womanhood is a culture and is born on the experiences that people within that culture go through. Tackling the discussion using the concept of empowerment, feminism, mothers, and power, there is a focus on the contextualization of leadership positions for women in Kenya. Using the historical backing of some of the women in politics in Kenya since the 1960s, the paper provides a look at the journey of women in politics in Kenya. It also contextualizes the challenges that women have faced and the support within the system that is available or lacks. With an empirical example using Martha Karua, there is a more recent depiction of the political events in the country and the perspective that is currently taken about women's leadership in Kenya. Finishing the paper with a discussion and analysis of the theoretical perspective, the conclusion arrived at is that scarcity of resources, lack of enough support, and male domination in power are seen as a barrier to women's careers in politics.