An Assessment of The Impact of The Stem-Kenya Mentorship Program on Career Choice and Employment of Young Women in Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, various intervention programs have been implemented to support the youth in making informed career choices and prepare  them for employment by imparting practical skills and foster the right work attitude. These initiatives include apprenticeship, internship  and mentorship programs. However, there are notable gender disparities not just in the uptake of these programs, but also in school to  work transition whereby female participation in the job market is 29.5 per cent compared to males at 36 per cent. This is more apparent  in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related fields. As a mitigation, UNESCO launched the UNESCO-STEM  government of Kenya mentorship program in 2014 to inspire girls to embrace STEM by organising scientific camps of excellence in  specific schools in different counties. This paper presents the findings of an ongoing impact evaluation study to assess the UNESCOSTEM  Government of Kenya mentorship program on career choices, income levels and employment status. . A sample of 177 young women  (those that went through the STEM mentorship programme and those who did not go through the programme) was used. This sample  was selected form a target population of 2,000 by employing Yamane’s (1967) formula for determining sample size. The study adopted  the cohort studies approach, which is a non-experimental longitudinal design that takes a sample of a people who share an essential  characteristic. Questionnaires and interview schedule tools were utilized to collect data. Quantitative data was analysed using STATA  while qualitative using NVIVO software. From the study findings, it can be concluded that participating in the STEM mentorship program  broadened the participants’ scope of employment opportunities. However, there are marginal benefits in placing young women in STEM  related courses. The ongoing study recommends redesigning and implementation of the program at a larger scale to enhance women  economic empowerment and certification of the participants.