The Impact of Urbanization on Women’s Roles and Family Dynamics

Achieng Wanjiku; Njeri  Akinyi; Chebet  Adhiambo

doi:10.71435/689223

Authors

Achieng Wanjiku Amref International University
Njeri Akinyi Amref International University
Chebet Adhiambo Amref International University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71435/689223

Keywords:

Urbanization, Women’s Roles, Family Dynamics

Abstract

Urbanization has profoundly influenced social, economic, and familial structures in sub-Saharan Africa, yet its impact on women’s roles within households remains underexplored. This qualitative study investigates how urbanization has reshaped the role of women in families in Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on economic participation, decision-making authority, and the persistence of traditional domestic responsibilities. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and participant observations with 18 women across diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Thematic analysis revealed that urbanization has expanded women’s economic roles, enabling them to contribute significantly to household income and assert greater influence in family decision-making. Simultaneously, traditional expectations regarding domestic labor persist, resulting in a dual burden that challenges women’s capacity to balance professional and domestic responsibilities. Male partners exhibit varying responses to these shifts, ranging from support and adaptation to resistance and negotiation, highlighting the contested nature of gender power dynamics within urban households. The study underscores that families operate as micro-organizational systems, wherein role allocation, resource management, and decision-making processes mirror principles of organizational management. These findings carry significant implications for policymakers, organizational leaders, and urban planners, emphasizing the need for holistic interventions that integrate economic empowerment, domestic workload redistribution, and socio-cultural transformation to achieve genuine gender equity. By situating household dynamics within the broader urban economic and social context, this study provides critical insights into the interplay between urbanization and the evolving roles of women, offering a framework for understanding and supporting equitable family structures in rapidly urbanizing cities.

References

Aksar, N. (2024). Exploring the Role of Media in Shaping Gender Perceptions in Education. Breaking Barriers: Exploring Gender Dynamics In Education, 18.

Barney, J. B., Ketchen Jr, D. J., & Wright, M. (2021). Resource-based theory and the value creation framework. Journal of management, 47(7), 1936-1955. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063211021655

Cameron, L., Lamers, L., Leicht-Deobald, U., Lutz, C., Meijerink, J., & Möhlmann, M. (2023). Algorithmic management: Its implications for information systems research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 52, 556-574. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.05221

Chatzinikolaou, D., & Vlados, C. M. (2025). On a new sustainable energy policy: exploring a macro-meso-micro synthesis. Energies, 18(2), 260. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18020260

Ente, R. M. J., Gian, J., Nelmida, C., Ricafort, C., & Basmayor, N. (2024). Understanding the lived experiences of families with Extended Family Members: a phenomenological study. Florence: Interdisciplinary Journal of Health and Sustainability, 2(1), 27-31. https://doi.org/10.56183/p9s95450

Epstein, C. F. (2022). Woman's place: Options and limits in professional careers. Univ of California Press.

Fernandez, L. (2023). Unveiling gender dynamics: An in-depth analysis of gender realities. Influence: International journal of science review, 5(3), 61-70. https://doi.org/10.54783/influencejournal.v5i3.182

Friedman-Sokuler, N., & Lavee, E. (2025). Marginalized Agency or Agency at the Margins: Domestic Workers and Informality (No. 1584). GLO Discussion Paper.

Gibson, C. B., Gibson, S. C., & Webster, Q. (2021). Expanding our resources: Including community in the resource-based view of the firm. Journal of Management, 47(7), 1878-1898. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320987289

Gitonga, N. (2025). Bridging micro and macro level theories in the social sciences: Strategies, challenges, and innovations in theory construction. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(1), 88-105.

Johnson, S., Dalton‐Locke, C., Baker, J., Hanlon, C., Salisbury, T. T., Fossey, M., ... & Lloyd‐Evans, B. (2022). Acute psychiatric care: approaches to increasing the range of services and improving access and quality of care. World Psychiatry, 21(2), 220-236. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20962

Julius, L. W. (2025). Navigating the Crossroads: Patriarchy and Women's Rights in Kenya's Legal Landscape. Beijing L. Rev., 16, 201.

Killaspy, H., Harvey, C., Brasier, C., Brophy, L., Ennals, P., Fletcher, J., & Hamilton, B. (2022). Community‐based social interventions for people with severe mental illness: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of recent evidence. World Psychiatry, 21(1), 96-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20940

Kuusisto, A. (2025). Case study: Navigating dual roles: Balancing supervisory and expert responsibilities in knowledge-based organizations.

Liao, E., Wang, A. Y., & Zhang, C. Q. (2021). To Control or to Delegate?: Effective Leadership in Challenging Times. In Strategic Management During a Pandemic (pp. 59-78). Routledge.

Louden-Cooke, S. (2025). Introduction: Power, Agency, and Identity. In Gender Equality, Matrimony, and Secularism in Egypt and Iran: A Comparative Exploration of Early Twentieth-Century Family Law (pp. 1-30). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-00846-6_1

Lu, J., Xiao, Q., & Wang, T. (2023). Does the digital economy generate a gender dividend for female employment? Evidence from China. Telecommunications Policy, 47(6), 102545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102545

Manhas, S. (2025). Structural and cultural barriers to the economic empowerment of women. In Women and empowerment: achieving sustainable development goal 5 (pp. 91-107). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-2759-2_8

Masamha, B., Uzokwe, V. N., & Thebe, V. (2024). Conceptualizing intra-household gender roles and power dynamics within the cassava food value chains: lessons from qualitative evidence among Tanzanian smallholder farmers. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 24(9), 24526-24550. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.348060

Muyonga, M. K. (2023). Migration and Inequality in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).

Nyairo, R., Onkangi, R., & Ojwala, M. (2021). Contextualizing Resilience Amidst Rapid Urbanization in Kenya through Rural-Urban Linkages. In Climate Vulnerability and Resilience in the Global South: Human Adaptations for Sustainable Futures (pp. 55-73). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77259-8_3

Onyango, E. O., Crush, J., & Owuor, S. (2021). Migration, rural–urban connectivity, and food remittances in Kenya. Environments, 8(9), 92. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments8090092

Patel, L. P., & Patel, C. (2025). Women's Professional Advancement in Urban Planning Industries: A Systematic Review of Barriers and Facilitators in the Indian Context. Journal of Scientometric Research, 14(1), 99-112. https://doi.org/10.5530/jscires.20251094

Polo, A. (2025). Territorial Challenges for Family Entrepreneurship: Informality, Viability and Gender Dynamics in Rural and Peri-Urban Colombia. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202509.0118.v1

Ruslin, I. T. (2022). The way of a patriarchal bargain: how the bargain under the structure and agency perspective. ETNOSIA: Jurnal Etnografi Indonesia, 7(2), 141-153. https://doi.org/10.31947/etnosia.v7i2.21293

Saini, A. S., Chauhan, G., & Saxena, S. (2025, June). Do women need Empowerment? A Critical Analysis of Societal Arrangements and Biasedness towards Women. In Innovative Multidisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges: Sustainability, Equity, and Ethics in an Interconnected World (IMASEE 2025) (pp. 282-294). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-416-7_13

Singh, R., Khan, F. M., Mishra, A., Sharma, S., & Pushkar, E. B. K. (2022). Probing Micro-Organizational Behaviour to Enhance Employee Engagement and Boost Business Performance: A Goal Programming Approach. Pacific Business Review International, 14(12).

Sinha, V. K. (2023). THE GLOBALIZATION EFFECT: RESHAPING INDIAN FAMILY DYNAMICS. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10537234

Stewart, R., Wright, B., Smith, L., Roberts, S., & Russell, N. (2021). Gendered stereotypes and norms: A systematic review of interventions designed to shift attitudes and behaviour. Heliyon, 7(4).

Stoelhorst, J. W. (2023). Value, rent, and profit: A stakeholder resource‐based theory. Strategic Management Journal, 44(6), 1488-1513. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3280

Wang, W., Zhao, X., Zhang, X., Liu, Y., & Yuan, P. (2023). Entrepreneurs’ role overload and empowering leadership: A reciprocal relationship based on conservation of resources. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1118099. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1118099

Wang, Y., Ting, T. Y., & Hui, E. C. M. (2025). Land-Use Politics Amid Land-Use Constraints: The Spatial Informality of Small Suburban Leisure Enterprises in Rural China. Land, 14(6), 1312. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061312

Wiesner-Hanks, M. E. (2023). Women's agency: Then and now. Parergon, 40(2), 9-25.

Wu, J., Ohya, T., & Sekiguchi, T. (2024). Applications of agent-based modeling and simulation in organization management: a quarter-century review through bibliometric mapping (1998–2022). Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 30(1), 1-31.

Wu, Y. (2024). The Intersection of Gender, Migration, and Urbanisation in Shaping Community Identities and Social Structures. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 32(2), 149-158.