THE EFFECT OF FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES ON CAREER PROGRESSION OF WOMEN IN THE BANKING SECTOR: A SURVEY OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KERICHO & BOMET COUNTIES, KENYA

Women play an important role in society as procreators of the coming generation. In the modern economies they are playing an important role in the labour force. However, in many Kenyan communities, traditional perceptions of women as inferior to men continue to prevail as many people invoke the preservation of African culture to justify the subordination of women. The main objective of this study was to establish the effect of family responsibilities on career progression of women in banking sector using a survey of Commercial Banks in Kericho and Bomet Counties. The study adopted a co-relational research design. The target population was drawn from all the commercial banks in Kericho and Bomet Countie, Kenya. The Commercial Banks are: Equity Bank, Cooperative Bank, Barclays bank of Kenya, Kenya Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered, Family Bank, National Bank, Pan-Africa Bank of Kenya, K-Rep Bank, Kenya Women Finance Trust, Trans-National Bank, Diamond Trust Bank, Post Bank and Chase Bank. A sample size of 127 computed was selected using stratified simple random sampling procedure. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to pick respondents. First, respondents were stratified according to their banks. Secondly, individual respondents from each bank were selected using simple random sampling procedure. Primary data was collected through questionnaires and was analyzed using SPSS. It was also presented using mean, frequencies and standard deviation. The study established that even though the perception of the society about the career women being positive, the women are still perceived as home makers who should be there at home to take care of the children which influenced their career advancement. The study benefitted the Human Resource Managers in the banking sector in articulating deliberate strategies that are targeted at enhancing career development opportunities for women in the sector. The findings further aided in workplace policies that encourage women career development and benefited women by helping them realize the need to be as proactive as their male counterparts in the way they handle their careers. Keywords: Influence, Factors, Career progression, Women, Banks, Kenya