Influence of gender related factors on women appointment to leadership position in national hospital insurance fund Muranga County, Kenya.

Abstract

In most patriarchic societies, females are regarded as the inferior of the species. Because of this, women are denied access to both honored and utilitarian role open only to males. Such roles as administration and disposal of property, leadership, religion and governance exclusively belong to males. The main aim of the study is to establish the influence of gender related factors on women appointment to leadership position in National Hospital Insurance Fund Muranga County, Kenya. The study was guided by specific objectives that includes; to assess how personal characteristics such as gender, level of education, marital status influence women appointment to leadership position, to establish the effects of cultural factors on women appointment to leadership position, to determine how gender roles influence women appointment to leadership and to assess how family responsibilities influence women appointment to leadership position at NHIF in Muranga County. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. This study used descriptive survey design to get quantifiable information, which facilitated decision-making. The target population of this study included all the employees in the NHIF Muranga County who are 63 in number comprising of 51 males and 12 females. Since the population of the study is small the researcher did not sample them. The population of the study is therefore 63 respondents. Questionnaires and interview schedules ware the main data collection instruments.Quantitative data was generated. The data collected was refined, coded and systematically organized in a mode that facilitated analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Quantitative data was analysed through descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency counts. Measures of central tendency such as mean and measures of dispersion such as standard deviation were used. Content analysis was employed as a method of analysing qualitative data. The findings indicated that personal characteristics such as gender, level of education and marital status influenced women appointment to leadership position at the NHIF in Muranga County. Women were also described as having relationship-oriented traits like compassion, cooperation, and intuitiveness, and less task-oriented traits like competency, intelligence, and independence. This implies that what the society thinks of women leadership may positively affect their advancement up the ladder of leadership. The study recommends that women should be empowered more. Women should be economically empowered.