An Exploration of gender diversity practices in the oil and gas industry in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The call for gender diversity has taken a turn to advocate for both male and female equity in leadership, work environment and the society at large. Despite current outreach programmes, advocacy, existing literature in academia and conferences on gender diversity, it remains a retrogressive agenda. The force of society in maintaining gendered roles as a norm and practice stands firmly against the progression of gender diversity, especially, at the workplace. The aim of the research was to explore gender diversity in the oil and gas industry in Nairobi County, Kenya. This aim was fully realized through a set of research questions that focused on exploring gender diversity practices in hiring processes, career advancement practices, mentorship and leadership, and training programmes implementation at the workplace. The research employed exploratory research design under the qualitative research method. The research used semi-structured interviews to collect data, which was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and analysed using the MAXQDA qualitative analysis software. The findings were presented in line with the research questions which explored various aspects of gender diversity practices at the workplace. From the analysis, it was revealed that gender diversity is not widely practised in the oil and gas industry in Kenya which further led to identifying a number of barriers limiting its progression: the nature of the work in the oil and gas industry; lack of safety of employees relative to work schedules and location of site (workplace); working environment or conditions; absence of appropriate physical facilities; and family responsibilities all of which do not favour female employees leading to poor diversity. In addition, the results indicate that hiring practices were implemented to some extent through deliberate policies to hire more females, setting targets in the organisations towards gender balance, implementing meritocracy and fairness in dealing with the various genders, and prioritizing women recruitment. Further, the study revealed that both formal and informal mentorships were implemented in the oil and gas industry. However, there are more room for improvement as enhancing mentorship was identified as part of the strategies to improve gender diversity. Also, the study found few practices implemented towards advancement of employee’s career such as various gender diversity initiatives, merits-based promotion, and adoption of organizational culture that ensures that gender diversity is inculcated in leadership; and diversity improvement strategies such as leadership commitment and enforcement, ensuring fairness at workplace, transforming organizational cultural through awareness creation, adopting gender-neutral advertisement and balanced representation, and implementing women training programmes. The study concludes that despite organisational efforts to improve inclusivity, employees in the oil and gas sector continue to face significant gender-based challenges, including low female representation in technical and senior roles, discrimination in recruitment and promotion, and limited supportive mechanisms. These persistent inequalities highlight the need for more deliberate and sustained interventions. It is recommended that the Federation of Kenya Employers to guide O&G companies in developing gender diversity charters with clear targets and strategies. National policies should promote flexible work arrangements to support career progression for female employees in the sector. The National Gender and Equality Commission should develop standards for graduate trainee programs that embed gender inclusivity, ensuring long-term sector-wide gender diversity. In practice, O&G companies should integrate gender diversity into core organizational processes, including hiring, promotions, and succession planning, supported by HR and line managers. Structured mentoring, employee resource groups, flexible work arrangements, and gender-aware performance policies should be implemented, alongside ongoing diversity training and regular monitoring to track and improve female representation.