Why women take longer to become secondary school principals in Kenya

By  Kamau Maichuhie

Gender Reporter

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

• Women take 19 years to reach principalship, compared with 16 years for men.
• Survey finds family responsibilities, relocation and gender bias slowing women’s leadership careers.

A new survey has exposed the huge gender disparity in leadership of public secondary schools in Kenya.

Dubbed Accelerating Women’s Path to School Leadership in Kenya, the survey, conducted by Women Educational Researchers of Kenya in partnership with Global School Leaders, highlights persistent structural and sociocultural barriers to women’s rise to school leadership and the challenges they face once appointed.

Despite a strong policy framework supporting gender equality, women remain underrepresented in school leadership. While Kenya’s teaching workforce is relatively balanced between men and women, leadership positions, particularly at secondary school level, continue to be dominated by men.

According to the survey, women take longer than men to become school principals—19 years compared with 16 for men—largely because of family responsibilities, mobility limitations and entrenched gender norms at community and institutional levels. They are also significantly underrepresented in mixed schools, where they account for just 28 per cent of principals, compared with 72 per cent for men.

The gender gap is even wider in national and extra-county schools, which are generally larger, better resourced and more widely recognised. Men hold 87 per cent of leadership positions, compared with 17 per cent for women. The situation is also unfavourable for women in county schools, where men account for 69 per cent of principals, compared with 30 per cent for women.

About 57 per cent of women reported difficulty balancing their workload with family responsibilities, compared with 49 per cent of men. Nearly half of female principals, 49 per cent, also cited lack of time as a major barrier to obtaining additional qualifications that could help them advance their careers, compared with 40 per cent of male principals.

Female principals frequently described caregiving responsibilities and family expectations as major factors delaying their entry into leadership. Many said they had postponed applying for promotion while raising young children or because leadership positions required relocation away from their families. Some deliberately waited until their children were older before seeking promotion.

Others said decisions to pursue leadership roles often required negotiations with spouses or parents, particularly when the positions demanded greater commitment or mobility. Female principals also described encountering scepticism from parents and community members who expected school heads to be men or questioned their authority when they first assumed leadership.

“Some men tend not to accept the fact that I am the principal here… when they hear ‘principal’, they expect a man and are shocked to see me,” said a female principal in Nairobi.

Survey results also indicate that women are more likely to have their authority challenged, with 62 per cent of female principals reporting that their decisions are sometimes questioned by colleagues or supervisors, compared with 53 per cent of male principals.

Female principals described having to assert their authority in traditionally patriarchal settings, manage resistance from male teachers and overcome scepticism from parents and communities. Male principals, however, indicated that they tend to be more approachable and open to negotiation and discussion than their female counterparts.

“Most of the time, women principals take it as a challenge to their authority; like, you are not respecting their authority. They think ‘you are challenging me because I am a woman,’” a male teacher in Kajiado said.

Family and community barriers

Beyond family and community constraints, the survey found that institutional and systemic barriers also affect women’s career progression. Teachers cited limited leadership vacancies, unclear promotion processes, favouritism and corruption. Informal school practices, such as discouraging women from taking leadership positions in boys’ schools, also limit opportunities.

A total of 360 public school principals from 14 counties participated in the survey, which sought to understand the structural, sociocultural and institutional factors shaping women’s entry into and experiences of school leadership. The report points to barriers that can be changed, including career progression systems, mobility requirements, caregiving pressures, gender norms and assumptions about who should lead schools.

Sophia Yiega, the chief executive officer of Women Educational Researchers of Kenya, said it was sad that Kenyan classrooms are full of women, yet fewer than 35 per cent of school heads are female, despite men and women being almost equally represented in the teaching workforce.

“The findings are sobering. Women take longer than men to reach the principalship (19 years compared to 16), often because of caregiving responsibilities, relocation requirements, and long-held expectations about who should lead,” she said.

To change the situation, Ms Yiega recommended that career progression systems monitor gender gaps and reduce the burden of relocation. She said schools could also offer greater flexibility and support to those balancing work and family responsibilities.

“Mentorship and peer networks can help women prepare for leadership. Communities, school boards, and sponsors can examine the assumptions they bring to leadership appointments. We invite the Teachers Service Commission, the Ministry of Education, school boards, sponsors, and development partners to use this evidence and act on it,” she said.

Abraham Okumba, Senior Manager, Partnerships Africa, Global School Leaders, said the survey provided a clear picture of the structural and social barriers slowing women’s progress in education leadership, as well as practices that could accelerate it.

“We hope they will also guide policymakers, school boards, and sponsors to see where practical change is possible—from fairer career progression to better support for women balancing leadership and family responsibilities,” he said, calling reforms in hiring and promotion to support women’s career advancement, particularly in mixed schools.

The report notes that while Kenya’s laws and policies support gender equality, gaps remain in implementation. For example, the TSC Career Progression Guidelines for Teachers (2018) outline the experience and qualifications required for teachers to become school heads, but do not apply a gender lens or take into account the disadvantages women face.

“Job adverts for principals and deputy principals emphasise merit-based qualifications, but do not refer to gender inclusion or efforts to encourage applications from women,” the report says.

To address the prevailing situation, the report calls for stronger design and implementation of gender-sensitive promotion practices, including monitoring gender gaps, reducing barriers such as relocation requirements and introducing short-term, targeted affirmative action measures. These could include different promotion criteria for women for 10 years, until the gap is closed.

It also calls for merit-based selection processes to be made more transparent while reducing corruption, political interference and favouritism. In addition, the report recommends gender-sensitisation training for teachers, parents, school board members, communities and male students to challenge stereotypes and promote acceptance of women principals.

Equity and inclusion 

Within the education sector, several policy frameworks emphasise equity and inclusion. The Education and Training Sector Gender Policy (2015), for instance, commits to establishing gender-responsive governance structures and management practices across all levels of education.

Similarly, national education reforms, including Training for Sustainable Development and the National Education Sector Strategic Plan (2023–27), emphasise inclusive and equitable access to quality education.

Jennifer Wiso, principal of Farasi Lane Secondary School, described the pathway to women’s leadership in schools as difficult.

“Female principals, mostly in rural areas, are looked down upon by the students and even the community. They do not believe that a woman can lead them and cannot accept authority from a woman. In some areas, a teacher's authority is directly challenged, and boys do not take instructions from women teachers, let alone the principal,” she said.