More than a technical issue for women in science : A contradictory normative reality at the University of Nairobi

Abstract: Kenyan women carry a lot of pressure from cultural expectations and norms; there are also a lot of prejudices regarding what women are supposed to do. At the University of Nairobi, Kenya, women in technical educations are a clear minority. This thesis aims to illuminate the obstacles women in science face when they pursue higher educations. By illuminating the obstacles the thesis hopes to answer why there are fewer women than men in higher educational levels who choose science. The study has been conducted as a field study at the University of Nairobi with interviews and focus groups. The interviews were performed with men, women, employees and students to get a broad perspective on how everyone viewed the situation of women in science. The focus groups focused more on the women’s own experiences of being in the technical field. The empirical data has been analysed using theories regarding social constructions, hegemonic masculinity, gender equality and equity. Factors that the thesis concludes to hinder women to pursue science and technology are cultural expectation, the fact that science is considered to be masculine subjects reserved for men. There are also common that early childbirth hinder women from pursuing higher levels in the academia.