Be confident to take up executive jobs

When Kenyans reflect on the status of women and girls in the country; one person becomes an inevitable centre of focus.

 She is Prof Margaret Kobia, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Gender (which formerly included youth docket), a portfolio that gives her the power to ensure gender mainstreaming is a reality in every ministry, department and agency.

Further to that, the private and civil society sector walks in the same path as government in changing and improving the lives of each gender.

Prof Kobia promises that her tenure will lift Kenya’s global ranking in its performance towards creating an enabling environment for achieving equality and sustainable progress for both gender.

This year, the World Economic Forum ranked Kenya 109 out of the 153 countries in its 2020 Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR2020). This is a poor ranking indicating slow attainment of gender equality as the world races towards beating the 2030 deadline in bridging the gaps in women’s economic participation and opportunity, access to education, health and political empowerment.

Restructuring NYS

Prof Kobia has set out to raise the radar. In her two year stint at the ministry – appointed in January 2018 – she has built a high performing team that has delivered and now implementing National Policy on Gender and Development launched in 2019; National Policy for the Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (2019) – driving elimination of the vice by 2022, and Kenya Youth Development Policy (2019) – paving way for restructuring of National Youth Service (NYS).

“Under my leadership, I was able to re-establish NYS as an institution that focused its mandate on building the youth. The service had suffered two major scandals NYS I and NYS II,” she says.

 NYS Act,2018 (among the 23 Acts a three-judge bench nullified on October 29, 2020 for having passed by National Assembly without Senate’s input),provided means for effecting the reforms, she says.

Voice of Cowa

The Act paved way for establishment of Council of the National Youth Service, which she says steered the restructuring of the service under her watch.

 She explains: “With the new youth governing council, we were able to develop a strategic plan and transformed the service to a high performing institution. And two years now, the National Youth Service has not been involved in any corruption deals.”

With the National Policy on Gender and Development, she has a framework for adopting a multisectoral approach in driving the gender equality agenda.

Through the lens of the policy, Prof Kobia birthed the Common Women Agenda (Cowa), a forum, which brings together women from private, civil society and public sector, female political leaders and academia.

She has set out the deliverables for Cowa: “Women speaking with one voice in removing the barriers that hinder them from develop their potential.”

Remarkably, the voice of Cowa was heard in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) conversations.

Missing link in BBI

“I am happy Cowa’s recommendations to BBI have been integrated. For instance, we proposed increase of resources to counties and election of a man and a woman to Senate, that has happened,” she explains.

Even so, the women are worried of the inconclusiveness of the constitutional amendments proposed in the BBI report launched officially on October 26.

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu highlighted the missing link in achieving the two-thirds gender principle in the National Assembly when she spoke during the launch.  In reference to BBI team’s recommendations, Women Representatives elected to National Assembly will be no more. Instead, Senate will elect two senators, a woman and a man. The team proposes a 70-seats top to National Assembly to be shared among women, persons with disability and youth. Political parties are to determine the allocation of seats dependent on strength of votes cast.

Ms Ngilu stated: “Put it there that they will all (70) go to women.”

 The amendments also introduce positions of the Prime Minister and two deputies, to be appointed by the President to which a clause on explicit consideration of opposite gender lacks. Ms Ngilu noted this as red flag to excluding women in the Executive leadership.

  “It is said and it must be said all the time where two or three are gathered to make policy decisions there is got be gender rule applied,” she said.

 Prof Kobia has, however, purposed to raise her voice the highest so that women’s struggles to becoming central development drivers, yield relishing fruits.

 “Women should continue to ring-fence the gains made so far and with proper implementation of the reforms proposed in the BBI report, women could achieve meaningful gains in not just leadership but also in their socio-economic development,” she says.

Gender parity

Concerns over BBI's inadequacies on gender agenda illuminates Chief Justice David Maraga's advisory to the President to dissolve Parliament for failure to actualise the Article 27(8) of the Constitution requiring the arm to establish laws ensuring Kenya achieves gender parity in political and public service leadership.

Prof Kobia agrees that Mr Maraga’s advisory is anchored on the need to achieve the two-thirds gender principle. She, however, notes: “There is no guarantee that even the 23 women elected will come back if Parliament is dissolved.”

  As the holder of the ministry that oversees progress in eliminating discrimination and obstacles towards having a gender-equal society, the CS says recommendable achievements have been made in the gender sector that involves both men and women. Her office, however, works more on women and girl empowerment programmes because they are marginalised.

Creating awareness

Of recognition is near parity in access to education and women's access to credit through Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), she says.

Data from Ministry of Education shows that gender parity in primary school enrolment has been stable for the last five years, standing at 0.97. In secondary schools, girls' enrolment recorded an impressive growth of 9.6 per cent between 2015 and 2016.

While WEF's website states that since inception in 2007, it has cumulatively disbursed Sh16.9 billion loans to 1.6 million women entrepreneurs countrywide. And loan repayment rate stands at 97 per cent. Where these loans are offered through WEF 30 per cent, men are also included.

"So it is not that women cannot repay the loans. The issue is how to help women access credit to do business," says Prof Kobia.

The question of how to secure credit in the aftermath of Covid-19 economic tremor, runs deep in the minds of millions of women who run 60 per cent of unlicensed  and 31 per cent of licensed small and micro business in Kenya- these have suffered from the blows of the pandemic.

Economic freedom

Cognisant of this hurdle, Prof Kobia says the government has engaged financial institutions and development partners to offer women credit to jumpstart their enterprises.

But even as women seek to gain economic freedom, one major obstacle stands on their way; unpaid labour.

The CS is convinced that if the 11.1 hours that studies show women spend in unpaid work were diverted to economic activities, they could break free from poverty.

Looking forward, in 2022 and beyond women would enjoy better lives if Kenya attains the objectives set out in the Big Four Agenda – food security, affordable housing, universal healthcare and manufacturing, she projects.

“If for instance, we achieve food security, women will have sufficient and healthy food to feed their children,” she says.

National Treasury

Prof Kobia is, however, determined to change women’s and girls’ lives in the backdrop of a least-funded State Department of Gender.

In 2018/19, for instance, it was allocated Sh4.9 billion. Comparatively, the amount is almost equivalent to funds (Sh5.5 billion) WEF has received from the National Treasury in a span of 13 years since its establishment in 2007, as indicated in the website.

Her determination is fuelled by her belief that ‘targets can be achieved through effective and efficient collaborations with like-minded partners’.

Her priority task to accomplish before her term expires is to see the poor rural and urban women build and grow their household economies through the State and non-State empowerment initiatives.

Involve chiefs

She lays out her plan, bolstering public-private sector partnership in creating awareness on opportunities available for women in urban and rural areas including access to government procurement opportunities program, access to credit through WEF, Youth Enterprise Development Fund and Uwezo Fund.

 “We want to involve the chiefs and churches in disseminating these information as they are easily reachable to women,” she says.

Widen outreach

 In partnership with Maendeleo ya Wanawake, her ministry seeks to widen its outreach  across the country with trainings on leadership skills to enable women position themselves for leading roles from the grassroots to national level.

Her ministry together with the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) are working to establish initiatives with potential of expanding socio-economic opportunities for women. On October 22, the ICT ministry launched Future Bora initiative, funded by World Bank through which single parent households led by women will benefit.

Self-employment projects

The initiative will engage three organisations running self-employment projects for single parent households led by women alongside orphans, persons with disability, youth living in the streets, affected by conflict as well as those from marginalised communities.

It is to be implemented under Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project run by the Ministry of ICT, Innovation, and Youth Affairs. Each of the selected three either rural or urban based will receive Sh40 million to implement projects expanding economic opportunities for both men and women below 35.

Prof Kobia is a trailblazer. She is the first director general of the Kenya School of Government; first female chairperson of Public Service Commission and first female Chancellor of St Paul’s University, a five-year position which she has held since 2017.

Although she is a woman of firsts, the difference she makes is what gives her the distinction.

"What matters is what difference did I make? I believe such appointment is not made on the basis of gender but the capacity and capability one brings to the organisation," she observes.

For instance, Kenya School of Government (KSG) (formerly Kenya Institute of Administration - KIA) is the product of her hard work.

Serving as the director and chief executive officer of KIA between 2005 and 2013, Prof Kobia implemented a transformation strategy involving cost-cutting measures on discretionary expenditure saving the institute about Sh100 million annually. It is these reforms that led to its elevation from KIA to KSG in 2012.

Excellent performance

At the helm of the PSC, between 2013 and 2018, she oversaw conclusive transition of the commission from mainstream civil service to an independent commission.

Together with her team, they developed human resource policies and guidelines to ensure the commission operates as human resource regulator, appellant and oversight in the public service.

A list of her achievements cannot be complete without a mention of current governor of Central Bank of Kenya, Dr Patrick Njoroge and Chief Justice David Maraga. In 2016, she chaired the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) panel that interviewed Mr Maraga to head the Judiciary.

It is during her reign at the PSC that Dr Njoroge was interviewed and hired for the job. She says, it is the excellent performance at the PSC that promoted her to the Ministry of Public Service and Gender.

Career journey

Her career growth has been steadily progressive. After completing her primary education at Mariinya -A- Ruibi in Kiirua location, Buuri Sub-County, Meru County (where she was born and brought up); Prof  Kobia, joined Alliance Girls High School  for her ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels from 1972 to 1977.

 Later in 1978, she joined University of Nairobi for a degree in education, graduating in 1981.

She started her work life as a teacher at Ngara Girls High School in Nairobi. In 1987, she successfully applied for the position of a research officer and test developer at Kenya National Examinations Council, where she worked until 1990. She then enrolled for a master’s degree in teacher education at Kenyatta University, through a scholarship from the Ministry of Education. She completed in 1991.

She joined Kenya Science Teachers’ College as senior lecturer in Education in 1992. Four years later, she progressed to acting Deputy Registrar and Director, Students’ Welfare Services Board at Kenyatta University.

Awards and recognitions

In 2000, she joined University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign in US for a doctoral degree in human resource education and management courtesy of a leadership grant scholarship from General Board of Global Ministries of United Methodist Church. She graduated in 2003.

During this time, she also served as an assistant commission secretary at the Commission for Higher Education. On completion of her doctorate studies, she got a job as a senior lecturer and researcher in management, entrepreneurship and research methodology at Strathmore University, where she worked till 2005 after which she moved to KIA.

Prof. Kobia is a staunch adherer to rules. Integrity and professionalism are her guiding principles. One of the reasons she enjoys a peaceful ‘me time”.

 "I never promise anyone a job. I believe if they are regulations to be followed, I stick to them. So when I go home I sleep because I didn’t promise you anything," she says.

 Truly, Prof Kobia has lived her childhood ambitions. She knew she wanted to be a teacher right from when she joined Class One.

Most influential woman

 "What drives me is that I love sharing information that empowers both men and women in order for them maximise their potential. It was clear in my mind, right from Standard One, that I wanted to be a teacher. And when I went to high school, I said 'Oh want to be like this one of secondary.’ And when I went to university, I looked at the lecturers and I said 'Oh, I can be even a bigger teacher,'" she says amidst a hearty laughter.

 Bigger is her leadership influence. She currently chairs Amref International University Council. She is also Vice President of Commonwealth Association of Public Administrative and Management and member of UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration among others.

She has received awards and recognitions for her outstanding work. Among them is the Head of State Commendation of Moran of the Golden Heart (MGH) awarded in 2016 for her outstanding and consistent contribution to public service transformation in Kenya.

In 2014, she won a regional recognition as Africa’s most influential woman in business and government awarded by CEO Magazine of South Africa.

I love cooking!

 She says her mother, who managed their farm and home while her late father worked away; nurtured her into becoming a responsible woman.

 “My siblings and I lived with my mother. My father was a police officer and he was away most of the time. He came home occasionally on a vacation. And so I grew up seeing my mother do things. That gave me an opportunity to see that women can do it,” she narrates.

 “She also made us work a lot. Before going to school, we milked and during holidays we were either harvesting maize or cultivating potatoes; so there was no idling around. That inculcated in me the habit of hard work.”

 Beyond growing her career, Prof Kobia has built a family. She is married with three grown-up children.

When she is at home, she sheds off her status.

Head of family

“My husband is the head of the family and that remains so. There is nothing I do that he doesn’t know unless it is government’s privileged information,” she says.

If she is not reading a book or research papers on leadership, management and entrepreneurship during her free time, Prof Kobia could be in the kitchen cooking.

“I love cooking to unwind,” she says.

She however, has a support staff that she delegates the domestic work.

“I don’t try to do everything and I could encourage women not to try to do everything, otherwise, you will have a burn out,” she says.

She attributes her achievements to "God given abilities to build high performing teams in every institution that I have served."

Her advice to young women professionals is "to have clarity of what they want in life, train for competence and experience. And go for challenging job tasks in order to grow."

And to all women and girls, she rings a bell: “Be confident to take up executive jobs and when you get them, do the jobs like nobody else has ever done the job."