Abstract
Governments around the world have in recent years, increased the numbers of women legislators through gender quotas. Kenyan women inched closer to the glass ceiling when a new constitution in 2010 guaranteed them 13 percent representation in the parliament. Kenya currently stands at 10 percent women representation, which is significantly lower than neighboring countries Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, that stands at above 30 percent. Using the theory of representative bureaucracy by Krislov and Rosenbloom (1981), and Kingdon (2003) concept of agenda setting and the policy process, this analysis delineates past government policies and analyzes the constitutional process encompassing gender quota legislation. This research utilizes multiple secondary and archival datasets such as government reports, academic and professional publications, news articles, and statistical agencies’ reports. Findings show that the Kenya government is slow in increasing women representation because political, cultural, and ideological structures continue to pose obstacles in policymaking.