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.
