Women earn much less than men, reports says

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It could take 118 years for men and women to earn equal pay for the same amount of work in Kenya.

According to the Global Gender Report, women are underpaid, getting Sh62 per hour compared to men who take home Sh100 for the same period.

These disparities came to the fore in Nairobi on Monday during a discussion by the commission on the status of women stakeholders’ forum.

During the meeting, it emerged access to education was the leading factor to occupation segregation in the country.

Speaking during the forum, Country Director, UN Women Zebib Kavuma, said empowerment of women was about breaking structures and that those at the top have to ensure that each actor plays their role.

Kavuma listed wage disparity, occupation segregation and access to economic and production resources as the biggest impediment to women’s progress.

 It also emerged the gender pay disparity affects women’s spending power.

While the Constitution states that every worker has the right to fair pay, the Global Gender Report shows Kenya lags behind, ranking 63 out of 144 states.