UoN launches mentorship initiative to close gender gap in PhD completion

Two divisions at the University of Nairobi have launched a structured mentorship initiative to help more women complete doctoral studies and progress into academic leadership, following a gender gap in PhD graduation rates.

The Department of Economics and Development Studies (DEDS), chaired by Prof. Martine Oleche, and the African Women Studies Centre (AWSC), directed by Prof. Wanjiku Mukabi Kabira, recently convened a consultative forum of postgraduate students and faculty. The meeting sought to identify the barriers between enrolment and graduation, particularly for women pursuing PhDs.

Dr. Christelle Mbouteu graduated on December 11, 2025, with a PhD in Physics, specialising in Energy Engineering-Photo|Courtesy

The gap widens at PhD level. Women accounted for only nine of the 34 PhD graduates recorded between 2017 and 2025, compared with 25 men.

At programme level, women made up 37.4 per cent of Master of Arts in Economics graduates but only 20 per cent of PhD in Economics graduates. Female PhD admissions have also been volatile, falling to 30 per cent in 2025 after peaking at 60 per cent in both 2022 and 2024.

Faculty members said the figures point to a need to look beyond intake statistics and address the systemic conditions that shape students' ability to undertake advanced research and complete their degrees.

The completion gap closely mirrors female representation among academic staff in the department. Women currently make up 25 per cent of Lecturers, 25 per cent of Senior Lecturers and 20 per cent of Associate Professors. Representation at the full professorial level remains minimal, underscoring the difficulty of building a clear pipeline from postgraduate study into senior academic and leadership roles.

To respond to these challenges, the forum involved students directly in designing the proposed mentorship programme rather than relying solely on top-down administrative frameworks. The session featured students' firsthand experiences, detailed the bottlenecks in research completion and proposed practical support mechanisms.