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KENYA

Country Context

Since the adoption of the new Kenyan Constitution in 2010, Kenya has made commendable strides towards achieving gender parity in the judiciary. A significant milestone was reached with the appointment of a woman as Chief Justice, Justice Martha Koome.

However, while women comprise 55% of the magistracy or lower courts, this progress has not been evenly distributed across all levels of the judiciary. Women are still underrepresented in higher ranks, with women comprising 42.3% of Superior Court judges.

Women judges in Kenya continue to face challenges that constrain their agency, voice, and leadership opportunities. The judiciary can be a demanding and isolating profession, and women judicial officers often encounter systemic barriers that impede their advancement. Achieving gender parity is a crucial milestone, but it is only the first step towards ensuring that women can fully participate, thrive, and lead within the judiciary.

IAWJ & IAWJ-KC's Work

International Association of Women Judges Kenya Chapter (IAWJ-KC) members believe that mentoring/sponsorship/networking opportunities would make a difference in their judicial environment, making it less isolating and more enabling for women judges.

The Collective Empowerment Network (CEN) in Kenya is an initiative aimed at addressing these challenges. The CEN uses a collaborative approach, facilitating connections among judicial officers at all levels, building leadership skills, promoting accountability and anti-corruption efforts, and fostering a greater sense of community. By providing mentorship opportunities, sponsoring women judges for leadership roles, and facilitating networking connections, the judiciary can be a more supportive environment where women can truly thrive.

Since the adoption of the new Kenyan Constitution in 2010, Kenya has made commendable strides towards achieving gender parity in the judiciary. In 2021, a significant milestone was reached with the appointment of a woman as Chief Justice, Justice Martha Koome. In 2024, Winfridah Boyani Mokaya was appointed as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.
On August 21^st, 2024 Kenya reached another milestone by welcoming its first woman Attorney General, Dorcas Odour. A.G Odour intends to foster a new era of digital innovation, efficiency, and community engagement in order to improve the public service.

KC-IAWJ has recently hired Dr. Nancy Baraza as a consultant to implement the Collaborative Empowerment Network (CEN). The CEN is aimed at creating a sustainable and empowering structure that enables women to access critical support, leadership development and psychosocial support. Its main focus is to equip women judges with the skills and resources to rise in leadership positions and to influence positive systemic change in the judiciary. The CEN is aiming to launch the mentorship portion of its mandate prior to the end of 2024.

On December 16, 2024, the IAWJ Kenya Chapter, in partnership with IAWJ, launched the CEN at Sarova Panafric Hotel in Nairobi. The event, attended by 30 participants, including Judges, Magistrates, and judiciary officials, was graced by Hon. Justice Martha Koome, EGH, Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. Dr. Baraza highlighted the CEN’s goal of establishing a formal mentorship program to empower women Judges and Magistrates, fostering leadership development in line with the Chief Justice’s Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) vision. A monitoring and evaluation framework will also be implemented to track progress and ensure continuous improvement.

Partners

Resources

Women in Law and Leadership: How Kenya (Almost) got it Right.

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Women Judges In Kenya: Closer to Parity, Far from Meaningful Equality

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Women judges breaking down barriers to justice

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Blogs

Empowering Women Judges for Lasting Judicial Transformation in Kenya