AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF DEVOLUTON ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN NAKURU COUNTY

Abstract

Women have been grossly marginalized in organs of decision-making and governance structures. The Constitution of Kenya has sought to bridge this gap by providing both women and men the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. However, gender equality has not been achieved and women are still lagging in terms of decision making processes. The main objective of the study was to determine the impact of devolution on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The specific objectives of the study were: To determine if devolution has enlarged women’s substantive representation in Nakuru County; to determine if devolution has enabled development of programs to empower women in Nakuru County; to establish how accessibility through devolution affects women empowerment. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population was made up of the elected and nominated members of the county assembly of Nakuru and registered women groups in Nakuru County. The study employed purposive sampling to select a sample of 73 members of the county assembly while stratified random sampling was used to select 60 women group representatives. Data was collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires were piloted to ensure validity and reliability of the instrument. Data was analyzed by the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study concludes that substantive women representation, development of programs and accessibility of services had a positive effect on the women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study also found out that increased accessibility of Services by women influenced women empowerment. The study also concludes that the introduction of development programs had the greatest impact on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study recommends that more programs targeting women should be introduced as these have the greatest impact on women empowerment.The findings may be used to make conclusions and recommendations.