1. GENDER EQUITY MAINSTREAMING IN TECHNICAL,
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
INSTITUTIONS (TVET) SUBSECTOR: THE CASE OF
KENYA.
Mr. Stephen Otieno.
Mawego Technical Training Institute.
Kenya
2. Background Information 1/3
• TVET helps people become economically useful hence
escaping poverty and stigma.
• TVET graduates become business owners, employers'
residents, and knowledgeable citizens, contributing to
economic prosperity.
• TVET capacity building promotes the economy,
unemployment, and social inclusion (Simiyu, 2011).
• Unfortunately, women are victims of unequal educational
opportunities despite their majoritarian global population.
3. Background Information 2/3
• Notably, women make up two-thirds of global workers, earn
one-tenth of global revenue, and own one-fifth of global
property
• They also involve in low-wage occupations and engage in
early marriages, sex work, and forced labor.
• Further, poor women STEM participation and career status
has been reported in Kenya and across the world.
• This disparity is related to;
– gender imbalance in the syllabus
– school pedagogical knowledge
– the educational system's inability to encourage personality, self-
belief, and expectation in young female learners
4. Background Information 3/3
• The article focuses on Kenyan women's TVET participation
as it is essential for long-term technological advancement
• Technical and vocational education and training are crucial
in the workplace and a means of securing stable, profitable
income and employment.
• However, female enrollment in TVET Science, Mechanical,
and Science and technology courses is low.
• Why aren't more women seeking STEM courses?
5. Motivation/Problem Area
• Kenya has performed little research on the causes and
remedies of poor female student involvement in science,
engineering, and technology.
• Ineffective policy implementation to address gender
inequities in female student involvement has been a barrier
to gender issues in post-primary education, therefore this
sought to fill that gap.
6. Research Objectives
• To explore reasons preventing women from studying STEM
in TVET colleges.
• Determine elements that could promote female STEM
involvement in TVET colleges.
• To explore female TVET college participation factors.
7. Research Approach/Methodology 1/2
• This study used a desktop review of recent journal articles,
books, conference papers, and government and
international organization reports and policies.
• Kenyatta University's online library and Google Scholar and
Research Gate were used to make the choices.
• The literature was picked using key phrases such as
'Gender Mainstreaming' and its derivatives, 'Science
Technology Mathematics and Engineering,' and 'Gender
policy [frameworks].' Kenyan TVET centers.
9. Major Outcomes/Results 1/8
Factors Hindering Female Participation in TVET
• Kenya, like other countries, lacks gender parity in
engineering.
• The education system struggles with:
• Accessibility
• Equality
• Competency
• Relevance
• Effectiveness in academic material administration
10. Major Outcomes/Results 2/8
• Minimal participation of females in Kenya’s TVET industry
is due to;
– Negative attitudes regarding engineering fields
– obsolete curricula
– inadequate infrastructure.
• Youth tertiary education enrolment is influenced by;
• Gender, financial background, age, and academic accomplishment
(Githitu, 2019)
• Elsewhere, enrolment to YP, associated with income
generating skills, was poor and influenced by;
• Studies provided, personal ambitions, institution's emphasis on
academics
11. Major Outcomes/Results 3/8
• It was noted that peer influence, gender, and learners'
origins influenced students' decisions more than facilities
and job opportunities (Simiyu, 2011).
• To remedy unwise career decisions, this paper advised,
• establishing bridging programs, conferences, and symposia in
higher education institutions
• RVTTI (2021) established obstacles hindering women’s
attainment of TVET skills as;
• negative TVET impressions, a lack of gender mainstreaming
strategies, socioeconomic impediments to male sexual inclusion
in TVET, bodily inability, a lack of support, and biases
12. Major Outcomes/Results 4/8
• It is paramount that co-curricula activities in tandem with
male/female’s interests be created as well as mandatory
TVET course to all students.
• Female involvement rates can therefore be improved by;
– Changing attitudes, sociological features, such as profiling, and
other factors stated in this research
13. Major Outcomes/Results 5/8
Increasing Female TVET participation factors
• Despite female enrolments being low in many countries
have improved, and Kenya can gauge her progress based
on this.
• This research focuses on enhancing equality through;
• institutional support structures, community life, and government
programs to improve gender parity
• First, enhancing awareness of gender issues at the
institutional level of TVET boost female participation and
economic growth.
• Second, women's high participation in TVET disciplines,
from training to work, contributes to their large numbers.
14. Major Outcomes/Results 6/8
• Thirdly, teacher education should include gender-
responsive practices with gender equality being a subject.
15. Major Outcomes/Results 7/8
Increasing women's TVET enrolment
• Gov’t related institutionalization of gender-responsive
activities
• TVETs implementation of institutional support systems,
community life, and gov’t programs that address social and
human equality.
• Strengthening of education, gender, and cross-ministry
policies to boost male and female involvement in TVETs
• Integration of humanities subjects, concepts, and ideas in
TVET curricula for equal rep. of male and female teachers
in all topics and levels
16. Major Outcomes/Results 8/8
• Inclusion of TVET-related career programs, Peers,
teachers, parents, and employers must encourage female
students to enter TVET.
• Creation of gender-responsive career counseling programs
to encourage and guide female and male students.
17. Conclusion
• Kenya's female engineering enrollment is low.
• The study indicated poor female TVET participation.
• Multivariate variables restrict women's TVET participation;
• Weak government policy on education
• unfavorable attitude toward the profession
• obsolete curriculum and mismatched skills with market demands
• gender bias in the curriculum and classroom pedagogy
• failure of the education system to encourage female learners'
self-esteem, confidence, and goals.
18. Recommendations
• Female participation in TVETS can be improved by;
– Increasing the number of female role models in higher education
– Instituting gender-responsive interventions
19. Further Research
• Recommendations for future research in the same or
related area.
• More research should be done to the male participation in
TVET areas since a lot of studies has focused on the
female participation.
