International Journal of Education, Science and Social Sciences

Original Articles

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2024)

Strategies Used by Women Seeking Elective Political Leadership in Meru County, Kenya

Published
2024-09-25

Abstract

The growing number of women in elective positions represents a significant shift in worldwide politics. Despite the advancements, women still continue to face unique hurdles in attaining and maintaining political power. Using a cross-sectional data of 384 from registered voters, this study evaluated strategies used by women seeking elective political leadership in Meru County, Kenya. The study is guided by the Feminist Theory and employed descriptive research design. The Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample size formula was used to identify a sample size of 384 from a target population of 772,139 registered voters in the nine electoral constituencies in Meru County. Respondents were selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected using structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics was applied to analyse the collected data using SPSS version 24. The results indicated that women in Meru County advocate for gender mainstreaming by adhering to constitutional and legislative frameworks, a strategy for achieving gender equality, and public recognition of women. Grassroots mobilization emerges as an important technique for females to contact voters, challenge cultural conventions, and strengthen relationships with them. The successful use of traditional and social media is emphasized as critical to molding public perception, reaching wider audiences, and engaging voters. Support for gender quotas is characterized as a proactive approach to removing structural barriers and ensuring women's fair representation in politics. Collectively, these strategies demonstrate women's dedication in Meru County to construct a more inclusive and fairer political climate and could serve as a model for establishing gender-balanced leadership in other regions. These findings contribute new knowledge to literature and theory.

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