Data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that 92 percent or 14,268 of the 15,252 new six-figure earners in 2023 were women.
In a historic occurrence, Kenyan female workers earning Ksh100,000 per month have outnumbered male workers in the country’s formal sector, with more highly educated women making their way into the male-dominated club of top earners.
This is according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), indicating that 92 percent or 14,268 of the 15,252 new six-figure earners in 2023 were women. This aligns with the intention to narrow the gender pay gap at the top level amid the push for salary parity in the workplace.
Comparatively, there were 1,256 new male employees with a monthly pay of over Ksh100,000 last year, a slower growth compared to 13,132 in 2022.
Women employees joining the club of super earners have often fallen behind that of male workers, and even shrank in 2022, according to multi-decade data provided by the KNBS. In 2022 for instance, female employees with a six-figure salary dropped marginally by two workers, whereas that of their male counterparts increased by 13,132.
A woman working in an office. /CLASSIC 105
Dr Joy Kiiru, an economist who has written extensively on gender empowerment, argued that the data needed to be interrogated to see whether the push for equal-pay-for-equal policies might be paying off.
“But for us researchers, it is important to give more statistics and data. Without statistics, we don’t know whether it (the additional female employees) was a fluke or a result of gender policies,” Dr Kiiru was quoted by the Business Daily.
There have been concerns over the widening gender pay gap in corporate Kenya, with women being paid poorly for the same work compared with men, despite numerous career developments being made by female graduates.
Dr Kiiru added that interrogation of the public service job records revealed that women had obtained more undergraduate and Master’s degrees than men but the shifts have not reflected in the career progression of female employees.
The gender pay parity for the super earners narrowed to 107,724 last year from 120,736 in 2022. Women earning more than Ksh100,000 last year stood at 139,847 of the 387,418 super earners compared to men at 247,571, reflecting the male dominance in holding top jobs in government and corporate Kenya.
The gender pay gap has been a persistent problem in Kenya, even though sex discrimination was outlawed decades ago. Some of Kenya’s largest employers have been criticised for the slow pace of narrowing their pay gaps, with fewer women taking management roles.
Kenyans have since offered mixed reactions to the findings, with many comments suggesting a gender disparity and a shift in traditional norms, which goes against what gender equality has in mind. Others believed that men have crossed into the territory of endangered species, with more empowerment programs aimed towards women.
Other Key Statistics
Of the total 3.138 million formal workers, 42.2 percent earned below Ksh50,000 monthly, while only 12.3 percent made over Ksh100,000.
The private sector employs the majority (67.64 percent) of top earners, with 262,047 individuals taking home over Ksh100,000, compared to 125,371 in the public sector.
Key industries contributing to the six-figure salary bracket include education, wholesale and retail trade, human health, and finance.
The education sector led with 89,125 earners, followed by wholesale and retail (46,911), human health (39,643), and agriculture (35,144). Financial services and manufacturing added 32,941 and 30,491 top earners, respectively.
Long queues of job seekers in their hundreds wait to hand in their documents at county hall in Nairobi, Kenya. /NATION MEDIA GROUP
