What prevents women in Kenya from taking a leadership role in the sanitation sector?

Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) awarded Athena a grant to analyze barriers limiting women's participation in leadership roles in sanitation-related public bodies in Kenya. The grant falls under its Urban Sanitation Research Initiative. The research design employs mixed methods to assess gender balance in decision-making/technical roles. It also identifies barriers to female participation in those roles. The study aims to capture how gender might impact, shape or shift the definition of sanitation among decision-makers. It will then look at how this lead to differing policy priorities, or intervention approaches where women are given greater presence, voice and power in the sanitation sector. The research exams the internal workings of organizations in the sanitation sector, as a potential source of gender inequity in their external service delivery.