Why few women take part in manufacturing industry
Lewis Njoka @LewisNjoka
Lack of access to finance and an uncompetitive operating environment are some of the key barriers hindering participation of women in manufacturing, a report says.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM)’s new report says local manufacturers work in a challenging environment characterised by high cost of production, complex taxation framework, gaps in standardisation and variable enforcement of laws.
Dubbed, Women in Manufacturing: Mainstreaming Gender and Inclusion, the report adds that due to challenges of accessing finance, Kenyan women are resorting to alternative ways of accessing credit such as welfare clubs (chamas), Saccos, and women-friendly financial institutions.
“Whereas some of them experienced only a few challenges due the security of existing investments and/or family support, most of them indicated that it was a difficult task raising requisite capital,” the report reads in part.
Those interviewed reported that commercial banks have stringent requirements for finance that many women may not be able to meet.
It said women are still reluctant to access bank products due to the need for collateral and the fear of defaulting on loan repayment.
The report identified the cost of complying with multiple licensing requirements, unpredictable policy landscape, and limited incentives and facilitation as some of the factors making the operating environment uncompetitive, hindering women participation in manufacturing.
Formal employment
According to the report, women comprised only 17 per cent of formal employment in manufacturing compared to men’s 83 per cent as of 2019.
Similarly, only 13 per cent of companies in the country have a female majority ownership with only 18 per cent of the managers in the entire industry being female.
As per KAM membership, all the 14 manufacturing subsectors are male dominated and staffed except for chemical and allied subsector, which is 50 per cent female.
Three sub-sectors namely; agriculture, fresh produce and paper have a female workforce of 40 per cent with the rest having a female workforce below 40 per cent.
