What is unemployment?
Unemployment refers to people actively looking for employment but not finding it. Unemployment can also mean people willing to work but there are no opportunities. In Kenya, even with
a degree, you will still be unemployed.
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Do we have men being more unemployed?
In Kenya if you walk to any primary school you find that out of the 30 teachers you will find in a school 2
will be men the other 28 are female. If you walk into any high school the number of female teachers will
be probably 4 men out of 10 teachers so the other 6 will be female.
If you walk to a hospital 90% of nurses are female and 10% male. The doctor will likely be 50% female and 50%, male. If you go to engineering jobs 70% will be men and 30% female. We have lower jobs attracting more women like house cleaning jobs, farming jobs, nursing jobs, and teaching jobs. The jobs where you will find men having a high percentage are mechanic jobs, driving jobs mining jobs, and construction jobs.
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Where do Kenyans who have low qualification work?
The majority of women who have low qualifications like form four only or class 8 dropouts find themselves working in small holding businesses. The transport sector employs conductors, Beba Beba boys, etc.
As for the ladies mostly they end up being secretaries of companies, waiters in hotels and also some
men. Others start a small businesses like mama mboga fruits vendors etc.
In any set up you will find women having more jobs than men. A lady can easily be hired in a Mpesa shop
than a man. The reason being people tend to trust women more. Women risk it all. They travel to the
gulf as house helps while only a few men travel to the gulf.
Are men more affected by unemployment?
Yes, men end up struggling with unemployment more than women. The majority of men choose jobs, men of long ago took teaching jobs in primary schools nowadays they don’t. If you go to an early education class you will find 0.1% of males being trained in early childhood education. Early education means lower primary teachers and kindergarten teachers. Men don’t like cleaning jobs so you rarely find a house boy or a nurse working to clean in the hospitals. Men don’t take caregiving jobs in hospitals or at home.
Because of this fact, men are finding themselves with fewer opportunities because of their chosen
work. Men in Kenya want white color jobs with lots of money where they will be managers. These kinds
of opportunities are for a few people.
It has also been noted that men can’t be trusted with caregiving jobs. A man can’t take care of little kids
or old people by the fact that these kinds of jobs are termed feminine. Men are also viewed as dishonest and find themselves not sustaining their careers.
What is the solution?
Men in Kenya need to wake up and accept any available jobs even if it only pays for basic needs like food.
The problem is not unemployment but choosing employment.