Legal and Institutional Framework Contribution to Women's Leadership in the Public Sector in Turkana, Kenya

Abstract

Women world over continue to experience widespread barriers that are entrenched in laws, cultural norms, and institutional dynamics that pose challenges to women's involvement in the economic and political sphere of a nation. This article is based on the thinking that unless proper and structured processes are established, women's engagement in leadership would remain a pipe dream. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of the legal and institutional framework on women's leadership in the public sector in Turkana County. The study used the social identity theory to explain the concept of leadership and the gender divide in our society. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data while content analysis was used for qualitative data. The study indicated that the legal and institutional framework plays a significant role in determining women's leadership in the public sector in Turkana County. The study recommended that the county governments should address the gaps and obstacles to women's leadership through legislation to allow women's equal and full participation in leadership.