Bev-Benja/Kenya-Gender-Rule-Compliance-and-Performance-Scorecard

An analysis of Kenya's compliance with the constitutional two-third gender rule and the performance of women leaders in the Legislature, with a focus on County Woman Representatives # Kenya-Gender-Rule-Compliance-and-Performance-Scorecard An analysis of Kenya's compliance with the constitutional two-third gender rule and the performance of women leaders in the Legislature, with a focus on County Woman Representatives ## Background **Article 27(6)** of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, affirms that the state shall take extensive legislative and other measures - including affirmative actions and policies - designed to redress any disadvantage suffered by individuals or groups because of past discrimination. **Article 27(8)** commits to implementing the principle that not more than two-thirds of members of the elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. **Article 81(b)**, reiterates this for the electoral system, legally mandating that no single gender exceeds 66.7% of any elective or appointive position. Therefore, to operationalize these principles, **Article 97(1)(b)** establishes that the National Assembly shall consist of forty seven elected Woman Representatives, from each county, to address the gender gap in the Parliament. While these constitutional mandates guide government arms on how to actively encourage effective gender governance, full compliance has remained inconsistent across the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. Furthermore, since their inception in 2013, this scorecard evaluates if and how these affirmative positions have translated into effective legislative action and crisis response at both the local and national levels. ## Research Questions 1. To what extent has Kenya complied with Article 27(8), 81(b), 97(1)(b) two-thirds gender rule since 2010, across the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary? 2. Using women in the Legislature (Woman Representatives, elected and nominated Members of Parliament and Senators) as our case study, what is the performance of Kenyan women leaders in developing existing policy reforms, supporting Kenyan citizens during gender-related crises, and what other reforms have they advoc …