It further reveals that almost 17 million Kenyans are unable to meet their daily minimum nutrition and food needs.  This scenario places Kenya as one of the countries with the highest inequality rates after Haiti. 

Over the past 5 years, the government has been grappling with how to address inequality in Kenya and the observations within the World Bank. The report resonates with majority of Kenyans especially those who took part in a National Conference on Equity and Growth in 2006 where again the participants emphasized that; ‘Equity favours development process of a country and countries that are inequitable do not go very far.’ 

It is interesting to note that one of the recommendations by the report as a route out of poverty hinges on access to infrastructure where distance to markets and infrastructure matter, fertilizer for high yields, access to credit,  attaining higher level of education and access land should be prioritized. 

These issues require a closer examination from a gender perspective. The World Bank recognizes women as the most powerful drivers of household incomes. In Kenya women are the most affected by poverty. 

The fact that female unemployment is much higher in Kenya where over three quarters are under 30 years, in development terms and economic growth, the continued marginalization of women continues to hinder their productivity. 

This is not withstanding the fact that even during hard times, women have always being the most sophisticated and entrepreneurial owing to their ability to put food on the table for their children without meaningful resources. 

Therefore, as the World Bank report reinforce the need to give equal opportunity to both genders as one of the recommendations in sustaining growth over a long-term in Kenya; women’s trepidation ought to be taken into consideration when discussing discourse on equity and growth. 

The other issue is the information. This came out clearly when Praveen Kumar the Lead Economist and the main author of the report emphasized that unless ordinary people have got better understanding of the market and knowledge on what is happening, they might not use their skills to enhance growth. As for women, this has been the main hindrance and it is a factor that continues to stop women from exploiting their potential. 

However, gender inequalities continue because awareness and knowledge are not being used to inform policies and resource allocations by the government. 

But as the growth of Kenya is being looked at the macro-level, there is need to focus on the main issues which are at the grassroots level, where orphaned children, grandmothers, People Living with HIV/AIDS are living. 

The report acknowledges this fact and  it states that the decentralization of finance such as CDF, the youth fund, the women’s fund  by the government might be good but this is just a drop in the ocean. 

Gender analysis in economic governance tools that inform political choice should be put in place and it should focus on community issues. Government structures should be used effectively to reach the poor households. 

If the women and communities are empowered to participate in development matters concerning them, inequality in Kenya could be history. 

The writer is the Executive Director of AWC Features.

This story was also published in the Saturday Standard on 12th July 2008