Kenya: Gender gap widens in labour market

Scarcity of jobs is worsening gender inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa, locking more women out of formal government and private sector appointments, a new World Bank survey shows. The report shows that women in employment is at under 40 per cent in Kenya, behind countries like Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea and Sierra Leone where women engagement is over 80 per cent. Experts said the widening gender gap at the workplace in Kenya put policy makers in a dilemma as it threatens to shutter economic gains made over the past few years as women are locked out of income generating activities.