Earlier in 2021, CRTP began conducting a research on the assessment for women political leaders, which was conducted in collaboration with the Ford Foundation. As a center that seeks to excel in the capacity building of persons, thus enabling them to participate in the development of their societies, CRTP felt the need to develop a mentorship program for women political leaders, in a bid to empower them to take up leadership roles. Although there exist several mentorship programs for women political leaders in Kenya and beyond, the entire region of East Africa, (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) is yet to secure the two-third gender rule in parliament and other leadership positions. As a result, CRTP identifying these gaps came up with a program that will be more inclusive.
The baseline survey on needs assessment for women political leaders carried out by CRTP, therefore, sought to find out the levels of engagement of women in governance, the support they receive in realizing their goals, and the challenges they face in dispensing their leadership obligations. Specifically, the study sought to establish the levels of engagement of women in governance; articulate the experiences and challenges faced by women legislators and community leaders while dispensing their duties; analyze the skills-gap in the implementation of specific governance duties for women legislators and community leaders, and finally to examine the tactics and support women in governance utilize to help them address challenges.
Women Leadership Validation in Karen
After having Focus Group Discussions in Kisumu, Nairobi, Isiolo and Narok, a validation meeting was held at Mary Ward in Karen on 16th September 2021. Among participants of the workshop included 95% of those who participated in the study especially the women MCAs in Nairobi as well as aspiring women political leaders, and women who vied for political positions but did not get elected or nominated. The workshop at Mary Ward was organized to find out from the participants whether their thoughts resonate with the research findings and also to pinpoint gaps that might have been left out by the study.
The findings of the study indicated that the institutional challenges women political leaders face tend to overshadow their competencies. The study also revealed that the number of women elected