Kenyan women doing same jobs as men paid 30pc less

According to a recent household survey, Kenyan women still have less access to job opportunities than men do, and they earn 30 percent less on average than men do for jobs that are similar.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 Demographic and Health Survey, women in Kenya between the ages of 15 and 49 earn an average of Sh12,166 across all age groups and occupations, compared to an average of Sh18,595 for men.

The gender pay gap is most pronounced in the 45-49 age bracket, where men make an average of Sh25,586 per month, or Sh11,920 more than women do.

Professional service workers made the most money of any gender in their occupation, on average earning Sh34,111 per month, but men in the same field made an additional Sh12,636 per month.

“Average earnings for women (Sh12,166.90) are lower than for men (Sh18,594.90). Women report lower average earnings across all age cohorts relative to males,” said the KNBS.

“The percentage of currently married women aged 15–49 who were employed at any time in the 12 months before the survey was 67 percent and the corresponding percentage for men was 98 percent.”

Gains in kind

Additionally, the survey found that 77 percent of employed respondents for women and 93 percent of employed respondents for men received earnings in cash, while 19 percent of employed women and 4 percent of employed men did not receive any cash or in-kind earnings.

The amount earned is also influenced by age, with both sexes earning less between the ages of 15 and 24 than those who are older.

Women who are 30 to 34 years old make the most money, taking home an average of Sh15,478 per month, while men who are 45 to 49 years old make the most money, earning an average of Sh25,586 per month.

Between February 17 and July 31, 2022, the KNBS conducted the survey, sampling 42,300 households from all 47 counties.

Since the first one was conducted in 1989, Kenya has had seven of these surveys, with the most recent one being conducted in 2014.

monthly salary

The wage earnings data is consistent with Kenya’s annual gross national income (GNI) per capita, which was Sh241,467 last year, or Sh20,123 on average per month for Kenyans.

GNI keeps track of all monetary gains made by citizens and companies within a nation, both domestically and internationally.

The country of Kenya has a small middle class, a few super earners, and the majority of people are still stuck in the lower income bracket, which is revealed by the average income measure, which includes income from both the formal and informal sectors.