Kenya’s 2026 Gender Report revealed that men dominate the management of senior girls’ schools despite female teachers surpassing the numbers in classroom teaching.
According to the report, 87 % of the Board of Management (BOM) chairpersons nationally in the senior Kenyan schools are held by men.
In girls’ senior schools, where women dominate the principal role with 84 %, the male governance power in the BOM chairperson in the senior girls’ schools is at 69%.
“Women are under-represented in the leadership of senior schools, except for girls’ schools, where women are 84% of the school heads. Even for girls’ schools, only 31 in 100 of their BoM chairpersons are women,” the report stated.
Further in the senior schools’ level, the report revealed that women are the minority in the staffroom, with a 43% presence, with only 33% of the female teachers holding principal positions and 13% having BOM chairperson seats.
Additionally, the report indicated that in sponsored boys’ schools, all principals are men, and 90% of the BOM chairpersons are also men.
In sponsored mixed senior schools, 75% of the principals and 90 % of the BOM chairperson positions are also held by men, according to the report.
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School Leadership
Teaching leadership is becoming more male-dominated, especially in the management levels, even in primary schools, where women make up most of the workforce at 58%, the women hold fewer leadership positions.
Despite accounting for 58% of the workforce, primary school female teachers hold only 33% of headteacher positions.
Further, in primary schools, women only have 14% of Board Management chairperson seats.
At the junior school level, females hold 51% of the teaching workforce, 30% of principal positions, and 13% of BOM chairperson seats.
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Kenya School Leadership Failures
From the report findings, a significant gap between government goals and the actual practices in the Kenyan schools was identified.
Kenyans’ schools have failed to enhance gender equality in governance by ensuring gender balance in teacher deployment to tap the women’s potential in the gender transformative education initiatives.
Further, in the existence of schools, 70% boy schools have existed for over 30 years, with the BOM chairperson seats being held by men, while men also lead the 30 % of the girls’ schools.
Under the BOM leadership, dominated by men in most schools, a gap has existed in laboratory establishment, with boys’ schools having three times the likelihood of owning a science laboratory as compared to mixed schools.
