The Effects of Gender on Small Businesses: A Case Study of Kasigau, Kenya Leslie Abell Jerry Daday Department of Sociology Western Kentucky University

Introduction This study examines the influence of gender among 122 small business owners in Kasigau, Kenya  Kenya is a patriarchal society where men control institutions  However, in the seven villages of Kasigau, women are heavily involved in the community They own shops Have organized basket weaving cooperatives Continue to fulfill traditional childrearing roles/responsibilities

Research Questions How do men and women small business owners differ? Does the gender of the owner influence the success of the small business? Are there other factors influencing the success of these small businesses between men and women?  Training  Education  Business type

Literature Review Several scholars have established the importance of small businesses and their role in economic development in low income countries  Muhammad Yunus (2003, 2008): Small businesses are engines of economic growth Through his development of the Grameen Bank, women and men were able to receive no interest loans (micro-loans)  Empowered women in Bangladesh  Lift villages out of poverty as women created own small businesses Winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 This model has been adopted and employed in low-income countries throughout the world

Literature Review Additional work  Jeffrey Sachs (2006): United Nations Millennium Development Goals small village businesses help individuals/families/villages reach the “first rung of the development ladder”  William Easterly (2007): stresses the importance of “bottom-up” approach to economic development Empower and harness entrepreneurial spirit among local people in developing countries Provide local people with micro-credit to start businesses to solve local problems and address local needs

Setting and Context Research was conducted in Kasigau  Comprised of seven villages situated between the Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks in Southeastern Kenya Significant human-wildlife conflict No electricity, running water, paved roads Self-sustaining economy (farming, mining) Interdisciplinary research team  Students and faculty from WKU and University of Nairobi in summer of 2007 (Biology, Sociology, and Management)

Hypothesis: Female small business owners will experience higher monthly business revenue compared to male small business owners

Methods Approached 130 business owners in seven villages of Kasigau  122 participated (93.8% response rate)  3 refused (2.3%)  5 were not available (3.8%) 48 question survey instrument was employed  Translated into Kiswahili by our colleagues at the UofN. Administered over a ten day period Interview format Data entered and analyzed in SPSS

Distribution of Businesses by Village

Distribution of Businesses by Type

Distribution of Educ and Training

Structure and Income of Businesses

Income Disparity Businesses owned by men earn (not profit) $27.05 more than businesses owned by women  $ for men  $ for women A difference of almost $1 per day  The figure of $1 per day is used by the World Bank to measure extreme poverty  Very meaningful difference Does this difference remain when controls are introduced?

Explaining Disparity When we control for variables which might lead to this disparity, the earning margin decreases by 28%. When We Control for: # Hours/week Age Total Education Formal Training Informal Training Men earn $27.05 more than women per month Men earn $19.51 more than women per month

Explaining Disparity Through Business When we further control for the type of business that a person owns, the disparity almost disappears. Control for the Type of Business: Retail Apparel Food Mechanical/Technical Production Mining Bar/Salon Men make $19.51 more than women per month Men make $1.40 more than women per month

Conclusions There are gender differences in the revenues of small businesses in Kasigau  Mainly the result of men and women owning different types of businesses Hours worked and formal training also influence disparity  Could be result of women’s roles in village  Child-care - cannot work as many hours  Unable to pursue opportunities that could lead to higher income business ventures due to these roles  Women in Kasigau are thus constrained by the roles and expectations of their gender, which is not too surprising based on the patriarchal system of the Kenyan culture, and this is why we see the large earning disparity.