SOCIAL CONSTRAINTS OF WOMEN INVOLVEMENT IN MANAGEMENT LEVEL OF COUNTY FUNDED GRASS-ROOT COMMUNITY WATER PROJECTS IN MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA
SOCIAL CONSTRAINTS OF WOMEN INVOLVEMENT IN MANAGEMENT LEVEL OF COUNTY FUNDED GRASS-ROOT COMMUNITY WATER PROJECTS IN MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA
Timothy Elizabeth Kathini
St Pauls University, Kenya
Dr. Peter Koome (PhD)
St Pauls University, Kenya
Dr. Florence Nyamweru Gitahi (PhD)
St Pauls University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Literature has it that for any national or local project to succeed, community members must be included not only in all levels of development but also the management level where key voices are aired, major decisions made and resources distributed. In response to gender inequalities, many third world countries amended their constitutions and policies to address these issues. While much progress has been realized, research shows that in community development pro-jects, women are not fully involved in senior management positions. The goal of this study was to investigate social constraints influencing women's involvement in the management levels of county-funded grass-root community water projects in Makueni County. A case study was done in Makueni County on on-going projects in eight county wards. The study was conducted through a descriptive survey study. The target population comprised of 441 management board members with a sample size of 132 systematically sampled. This study used structured ques-tionnaire for data collection which was analysed using descriptive statistics. The descriptive statistics used included means, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages. The data col-lected was summarised and categorized in frequency distribution tables The data was analysed and organized into themes relevant to the study and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Microsoft excel (SPSS). This study established that education levels, skill development and leadership experience greatly influence the women's involvement in the management of county-funded community water projects. Further, the researcher established that in-service empowerment moderately influences the women's involvement in the manage-ment of county-funded community water projects. The study recommended that the govern-ment should provide education and awareness, training, and capacity building to grass-root communities in water management. The study suggested that the local community should be empowered through education so that it can fully participate in the management of water pro-jects.
