The latest survey on jobs and gender conducted by the University of Nairobi has raised important questions for policy makers.

It is disturbing that more than half of women — 57 per cent — are trapped in jobs that do not afford them decent incomes, thus confining them to poverty and a general low quality of life for themselves and their families.

This calls for policy interventions that can ensure that not only do women stay in school longer — so that they can improve their chances of securing decent jobs — but also empower them to find ways to improve their lot, especially in rural areas where gender poverty gaps are pronounced.

Although the government routinely sets the minimum wage during Labour Day annually, this has become more of a routine as the minimum wage directives are hardly ever implemented.

As such, there is need for enforcement of gazetted rules that protect the incomes and welfare of workers across board to ensure compliance even if this will raise the cost of doing business for private investors.

However, this has been done successfully in other economies, particularly Europe and some parts of Asia and, should therefore, work in Kenya as well.

For as long as a majority of women remain trapped in these lowly jobs, families will remain in poverty and this will have far reaching ramifications for the country, including adversely affecting literacy levels in the long term, which will end up making affected citizens and the country less competitive in a world that is increasingly embracing the knowledge economy.

It is not right that 60 years after independence, only 11 per cent of working women in Kenya earn above minimum wage. This is an indictment not only on the government for failing to intervene at policy and enforcement level but also on employers who perpetuate this inequality either by default or design.

This calls for a debate on how to economically empower both the men and women who are trapped in poverty so that together they can build a strong society in which every individual has a decent opportunity to succeed and improve their lives and livelihoods.

This will include putting in place incentives for women to enter the modern wage economy, by retooling them for the fourth industrial revolution and equipping them with skills that are both relevant and better paying, such as increasing investment in the manufacture