Comparative study on Gender Integration in Co-operatives: The Case of Women-Based SACCOs at the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO) Ltd.

Abstract

Approximately 7 per cent of the African population is affiliated to the co-operative movement and in Kenya alone, co-operatives provide some two million employment opportunities. In Africa, as elsewhere, inequalities persist between women and men, in terms of access to and control over resources and opportunities. In employment, women are found more often than men in informal and precarious work, with particularly pronounced imbalances in some sectors (ILO, Geneva 2002). The critical importance of closing gender gaps – which are not only contrary to the realization of women’s rights, but also an obstacle to poverty reduction – is widely recognized. The latest report on the State of Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows, for instance, that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase farm yields by 20–30 per cent, raising total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5–4 per cent, which could in turn, reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12–17 per cent (FAO, Rome 2011). For women, who due to gender-based norms, often have lower access to and control over economic and social resources and opportunities, co- operatives present distinct advantages. Apart from being able to access economies of scale, as providers of services, producers or as consumers, participating in a co-operative, as a member, elected leader or manager also brings with it enhanced status and voice in the community and society in general (Argawal 2001). Given that there is insufficient research data on gender issues in co-operatives, and in particular, the participation of women in leadership roles, KUSCCO, in collaboration with the Co-operative University of Kenya, will conduct qualitative empirical research that will focus on co-operatives under the umbrella of the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO) and will explore gender equalities in them and recommend strategies for promoting gender balance.