DEDS and AWSC Explore Mentorship for Women in Economics

A widening gender gap at doctoral level has prompted the University of Nairobi’s Department of Economics and Development Studies (DEDS) and the African Women Studies Centre (AWSC) to explore a structured mentorship programme to support women’s postgraduate progression, completion and leadership pathways.

The initiative took shape during a consultative forum that brought together postgraduate students from DEDS and AWSC to examine what stands between postgraduate enrolment and successful completion, particularly for women pursuing doctoral studies.

The need for the conversation is reflected in the postgraduate data. Women accounted for 42% of Master’s admissions in 2025, compared with 58% for men, but represented 51% of Master’s graduates that year. Over the preceding seven years, female Master’s admissions fluctuated between 41% and 54%, reaching 54% in 2022 before falling to 42% in 2025.

The sharper gap appears at the doctoral level. Women accounted for only nine of the 34 PhD graduates recorded between 2017 and 2025, compared with 25 men. At programme level, women represented 37.4% of MA Economics graduates but only 20% of PhD Economics graduates. Female PhD admissions have also fluctuated, reaching 60% in both 2022 and 2024 before falling to 30% in 2025.

The figures point to a need to look beyond admission numbers and examine the conditions that shape students’ ability to navigate postgraduate study, research and completion.

The institutional context adds another dimension. Women currently constitute 25% of Lecturers, 25% of Senior Lecturers and 20% of Associate Professors in DEDS. At professorial level, the numbers are very small, making broad comparisons difficult, but the staffing profile provides a useful context for considering pathways from postgraduate education into academic careers and leadership.

Listening to students

The consultative forum was designed to ensure that the proposed mentorship programme responds to students’ experiences rather than being developed solely at institutional level.

Its objectives were to provide input into the proposed mentorship programme, discuss challenges affecting postgraduate progression and completion, and identify opportunities that could support the growth, progression and completion of University of Nairobi postgraduate students.

The forum included a presentation on the status of postgraduate progression at DEDS and an outline of the proposed mentorship programme, followed by group discussions, presentations and consensus building on possible interventions and opportunities.

A central theme was the relationship between students and supervisors. Participants emphasised that effective supervision requires trust, communication and constructive engagement. Prof. Martine Oleche, Chair of DEDS, captured this relationship directly: “Your supervisor is your mentor and advisor, not your enemy.”

Prof. Tabitha Kiriti Nganga similarly emphasised the importance of regular engagement between supervisors and students. Supervisors guide students as they develop their ideas and research, she noted, while responsibility for completing the PhD ultimately remains with the student.

The discussion also recognised that postgraduate progression is shaped by circumstances beyond research and coursework. Women students may, for example, navigate childcare and other responsibilities alongside academic work. Participants emphasised the need for institutional support that recognises these realities while maintaining academic standards.

Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Director of AWSC, highlighted the importance of understanding the institutional environment in which students undertake their studies, including the systems and processes they must navigate. Other contributions pointed to the need to strengthen supervisors’ capacity to support different research approaches and make academic processes clearer and more accessible.

Prof. Odote, representing the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, challenged participants to move from identifying problems towards practical responses: “Don’t spend too much time lamenting… let’s move to solutions.”

From mentorship to a support ecosystem

The proposed mentorship programme responds the call to move from the problem identification to creating a more deliberate support structure for postgraduate students and early-career researchers.

Its broader goal is to contribute to a gender-responsive, sustainable mentorship and leadership pipeline that supports postgraduate retention and progression while creating pathways for women to take up leadership positions in economics.

The programme is being designed around several areas of support, including workplace readiness, technical leadership, clear career pathways, governance and influence, networks and institutional culture, research grants, publication support, work-life integration, equitable access and peer support.

Rather than relying on a single mentor relationship, the proposed mentorship ecosystem would bring together mentor-mentee matching, leadership development, sponsorship, safe spaces and confidential channels for peer support, work-life support, research and publication opportunities.

The consultation also identified institutional gaps that the programme could help address. These include the absence of a clearly established global alumni-based mentorship architecture intentionally focused on women’s leadership progression; the need for stronger mentorship governance and policy support; limited formalised near-peer mentorship; and gaps in mentor training, safeguarding, professional boundaries and monitoring.

A key principle emerging from the discussion is that mentorship needs to be institutionalised rather than dependent on individual office holders or informal relationships.

The proposed pilot would run for 12 months in three phases. The first phase would focus on programme set-up, safeguarding and mentor matching; the second on coaching, workshops and shadowing; and the third on evaluation, institutionalisation and sustainability.

Building a pathway for progression

The mentorship programme is initially being considered within DEDS, with the longer-term ambition of developing an approach that can be institutionalised and extended to other departments across the University of Nairobi.

For AWSC and DEDS, the consultation shifts the conversation from documenting differences in postgraduate representation to asking what practical support can strengthen progression and completion. The data make the transition from Master’s study to doctoral completion an important area for attention. The consultation adds to students’ experiences and proposed solutions to that of evidence.

The next step is to translate these insights into practical institutional support, stronger mentoring relationships, clearer academic and career pathways, improved access to opportunities, and systems that enable postgraduate students to navigate their studies and research successful.