Seven more counties slip up on gender parity rule in their top leadership

A woman holds a placard during a past demonstration in support of the two-thirds gender rule.

Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group

Seven more counties deviated from the two-thirds gender rule in the composition of their executive committees last year, new data shows, joining 22 other devolved units that were already non-compliant with the Constitutional requirement in 2022.

Article 197 of the Constitution states that, “Not more than two-thirds of the members of any county assembly or county executive committee shall be of the same gender.”

Official statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that only 18 counties had their executive teams composed of at least 33 percent women in 2023, while just three had attained the 50 percent mark.

Samburu, which had a membership of 11 officials in its executive committee last year, was the worst performer in the gender parity rule having zero female membership, which was a regression from 2022 when the devolved unit had three women serving on its key leadership organ.

Others that slid back to non-compliance last year in contravention of gender guidelines are Kakamega, Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Mombasa counties.

Compliant counties included Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Meru, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, Nyandarua and Kiambu. Others were West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Nakuru, Bomet, Busia, Kisumu, Migori, Nyamira and Nairobi.

The KNBS data comes at a time when revelations by the Auditor-General have highlighted widespread non-compliance with regulations governing the hiring of county public workers and the procurement of goods and services.

The audit, which covered the year ending June 2023, found that a significant number of counties employed more men than women, with Tana River's June 2023 payroll, for example, showing that there were only 601 women out of a total workforce of 2,004.

The workforce included county executive committee members, members of the county public service board, chief officers, departmental directors and support staff for the governor and the deputy governor.

In August this year, the High Court in Meru set a precedent by dissolving the Meru County Public Service Board for violating the two-thirds gender rule. The board was made up of six members – five men and one woman.

PAYE Tax Calculator

Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.