Breaking the Barriers: Women Succeeding in Male-dominated professions

By; Argwings Candy 

In Nairobi, where a busy construction site is located on the outskirts, the air is heavy with dust, the clang of metal and the clatter of heavy machinery. Reflective jackets are worn by the workers who move rapidly with tools and giving instructions over the noise. The 29-year old engineer Faith Njeri, with her clipboard, is at the heart of it all, as she gives orders with a lot of confidence to a group of men.

Measur that beam again, she calls out, her voice firm, yet calm. Such moments would have been inconceivable a few years ago not because she did not have the skills but because she had to struggle to be noticed.

People thought that I was the secretary when I first got here, Faith smiles faintly. They would request me to make notes rather than to give instructions.

It is not the only experience of faith. In Kenya women are gradually establishing themselves in professions previously dominated by men-engineering, mechanics, aviation, and construction-where they were formerly an infrequent and doubted presence.

In Faith, the process started with the interest in problem-solving. As a child, she was intrigued by the manner in which buildings were designed and built. However, when she showed her interest in engineering, she was not taken seriously.

She recalls people saying to her that it was not female. “But I knew what I wanted.”

Her willpower led her into university and the job market where the real battle was to be fought. At her first workplace, she did not really make much headway in gaining the respect of her colleagues. Instructions were questioned. Decisions were doubted.

I was forced to work twice as hard, she says. Not to do my job, but to show that I belonged to there.

Thousands of miles away, in a small garage between the stores in Ngara, a 26-year-old mechanic Mary Atieno wipes her hands with grease, bending over a car engine. The atmosphere is filled with the smell of oil and there are tools scattered on a battered wooden bench.

I did not intend this, she laughs. I loved cars.

Curiosity led Mary into becoming a mechanic. When she was a teenager, she would spend hours observing local mechanics at work asking questions and learning through observation. As she eventually chose to take it as her profession, she was met with opposition, not only by society, but even by the industry itself.

She says that customers used to come and inquire, where is the mechanic? And I would say, And you are staring at her.

Similar to Faith, Mary had to demonstrate her competence many times. Nevertheless, her work spoke volumes in the long run. She has developed a following of loyal customers today and is gradually turning the tide.

They return, they have faith in me, she says. “That’s what matters.”

These narratives are indicative of a greater change occurring in the Kenyan labor force. Although the hurdles still exist, an increasing number of women are entering into areas that were previously deemed as taboo. This is being transformed by education, exposure and alteration of the societal attitudes.

Nonetheless, the obstacles have not been eliminated. Sex discrimination, inadequate chances and absence of support systems still hamper development. Subtle discrimination against women continues to exist in the form of refusal to promote them, not letting them make decisions, or constant monitoring.

Nonetheless, we are seeing change within as a result of the strength of women such as Faith and Mary. Their existence is in itself a challenge to stereotypes and paves the way to other people to take.

Faith ponders, sometimes not just about you. It is about the girls who are watching and thinking, that maybe, she can do it, and I can do it.

In the construction site, the sun sets back, and there are long shadows on the unfinished structure. Faith is reciting the progress of the day and she is serious but contented. She still has her team around her, who no longer doubt her authority, but respect it.

Mary is closing her garage at Ngara, her hands are tired but her spirit is strong. Another engine was repaired another stereotype was defied another day.

These women are not simply creating a career- they are transforming stories. By so doing, they are demonstrating that talent is gender blind, and that all boundaries, however ingrained, are breakable.

With Kenya still developing, the emergence of women in male-dominated professions is a potent reminder: it is not merely a question of policy but of people those who are not afraid to violate the norm and change what they thought they could not do.