PERCEPTIONS AS AN ANTECEDENT OF WOMEN LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE IN PARASTATALS IN KENYA

Abstract

Women leadership has been of great interest to researchers in Africa and the entire world today. This is why there have been certain requisites that influence women leadership performance. This has contributed to the intense debate on their representation and performance in top leadership positions in parastatals in Kenya. It is due to the backdrop of this information that scholars are increasingly showing an interest in women leadership in the world today and Kenya is no exception. Previous studies have not identified a significant link between antecedents of women leadership performance in parastatals hence, this study sought to fill this knowledge gap. The study was guided by the general objective of the study which was to determine the effects of perceptions as an antecedent of women leadership performance in parastatals in Kenya. Two theories formed well-grounded premises significant for this study: Role Congruity theory and Transformational theory. Positivism philosophy was adopted. Descriptive research design was used and solely focused on the total population of 147, parastatals in Kenya. Simple random sampling and convenience sampling were used to get a sample size of 214 women leaders from 107 parastatals. The study used a structured questionnaire as the main data collection tool. A pilot study was carried out to test the data collection instrument to check for its reliability and validity for the study. A total of 132 questionnaires were received translating to a 61.68%. Both descriptive and inferential statistics used to analyse the data. Multi and linear regression models were used in explaining the effects of perceptions as an antecedent of women leadership performance in Parastatals in Kenya. Findings revealed that there was a weak but significant correlation between perceptions and leadership performance. The study concluded that there was abandonment of some cultural roles that impeded women from ascending to leadership positions in their places of work. The study recommends that reinforcing the complaint mechanisms are actions that could be employed to address past discrimination. The study further recommends that men should also be involved in women matters and help them address their work place challenges that prevent them from accessing leadership positions.