The perception of affirmative action on women Recruitment and career development: a case study of the World food programmme (Kenya).

Abstract

Affirmative Action is a policy or program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society through preferential access to education, employment, health care, social welfare, etc, enhance promoting equal opportunities. It has increased the number of women in paid employment and set them in career policies. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of affirmative action on women recruitment and career development in World Food Programme Kenya. The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP and the UN in general, ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination thus endorsing Affirmative Action within its organisations and programmes. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children. With the headquarters in Rome and with more than 80 country/field offices around the world, WFP works to help people who are unable to produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families. WFP has a large workforce of 10,200 people (2008) with 91% operating in the field. In Kenya, WFP has a total of 351 staff both in Nairobi and in the field, of which 134 are women (approx. 38%). (www.wfp.org) The study objectives were to establish the general perceptren about affirmative action, the contribution of affirmative action on women career development, the incorporation of affirmative action policies in recruitment of women in the organizations and relationship between affirmative action and employee, employer and organization performance. The study was guided by Rawls theory of Justice (1971) which states that all social primary goods - liberty and opportunity, income, jobs and wealth, and the bases of self-respect be distributed equally. The theory adds that inequalities in society are okay only if they are arranged so that the inequalities actually help out the least fortunate persons in society. The research employed an Ex Post Facto Survey research design, which was deemed appropriate because it handles situations or events that have already occurred, x investigates variables with the same characteristics and does not manipulate the variables. A questionnaire was used in data collection. Purposive sampling technique was used in identifying the organization for the study; permanently employed career men and women were selected using simple random sampling. Data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively facilitated by SPSS (Statistic Package for Social Science) Computer package. Data was presented in tables, graphs pie charts and frequency tables. The study was significant since it determined the perception the society hold on affirmative action, what was expected of affirmative action and what was on ground in employment opportunities, the benefit and shortfalls of embracing affirmative action to employees, employers and organization. The study informs the general public, government, organizations and individual people in the society on the effects of affirmative action to individual performance.