Indicator 16.7.1 Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups

16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

16.7.1: Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups

2024

5.5, 10.2

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

Senior Manager, Social Statistics

Social Statistics

Collect, compile, analyze and disseminate statistics on governance, peace and security, gender, education and health

+254 735004401,+254 202911001,+254 202911000

P.O. Box 30266 – 00100 Nairobi

dpss@knbs.or.ke

Definition:

This metadata sheet is focused only on the first sub-component of indicator 16.7.1, namely on positions in national legislatures held by individuals of each target population (sex, age, persons with disabilities, and contextually relevant population groups).

The legislative sub-component of indicator 16.7.1 aims to measure how representative of the general population are the individuals occupying key decision-making positions in national legislatures. More specifically, this indicator measures the proportional representation of various demographic groups (women, age groups) in the national population amongst individuals occupying the following positions in national legislatures: (1) Members, (2) Speakers and (3) Chairs of permanent committees in charge of the following portfolios: Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Human Rights and Gender Equality. Furthermore, it looks at the electoral and constitutional provisions adopted by countries to secure representation in national legislatures of persons with disabilities and contextually relevant population groups.

Concepts:

The indicator is based on the following key concepts and terms:

• National legislature: A legislature (alternatively called ‘assembly’ or ‘parliament’) is the multi-member branch of government that considers public issues, makes laws and oversees the executive.

o Unicameral / bicameral parliaments: A legislature may consist of a single chamber (unicameral parliament) or two chambers (bicameral parliament). The organization of a country’s legislature is prescribed by its constitution. Around the world, about 59% of all countries have unicameral legislatures, while the remaining 41% are bicameral. To allow for a comprehensive analysis, this indicator will consider both chambers in bicameral parliaments.

• Member of Parliament (MP): A person who is formally an elected or appointed member of a national legislature. This metadata considers all members of lower and upper chamber regardless of the selection modality (direct election, indirect election and appointment).

• Speaker: A Speaker (alternatively called ‘president’ or ‘chairperson’ of the legislature) is the presiding officer of the legislature.

• Permanent committee (alternatively called ‘standing committee’): established for the full duration of the legislature and generally aligned with the specific policy areas of key government departments. For the purpose of SDG indicator 16.7.1(a), the permanent committees in charge of five portfolios are being considered: Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Human Rights and Gender Equality.

• Permanent Committee Chair: A person designated to preside over the work of a permanent committee, selected through nomination by political parties, election by MPs, appointment by the Speaker, or other means.

• Disability: long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of disabled persons in society on an equal basis with others.

• Population group: The population of a country is a mosaic of different population groups that can be identified according to racial or ethnic, language, migration status, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, as well as disability status (UNECE). The indicator adopts a broad definition of population groups, not limited to minorities and indigenous peoples, in order to capture all nationally relevant groups tracked by a given parliament, which depends on the constitutional and electoral measures in place to guarantee the representation of certain groups. Such measures sometimes extend to groups other than ‘minorities’, such as, for instance, occupational groups

Ratio

Not Applicable

Administrative data from the Parliamentary Service Commission

KNBS sends a data template to the Parliamentary Service Commission. The Commission compiles the data from their administrative records by sex across two levels (National and County Levels. Internal review and validation of the given data is done by KNBS.

Annually

May Annually

Parliamentary Service Commission

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) is established under the Statistics Act, 2006 as the principal agency of the Government for collecting, analyzing and disseminating statistical data in Kenya, as the custodian of official statistical information and promoting effective statistical coordination of NSS.

The concept of representation

There are different approaches to the concept of representation in parliament, with two of the most widely-known being descriptive and substantive representation (Bird, 2003; Floor Eelbode, 2010). Descriptive representation is concerned with the extent to which the composition of parliament mirrors the various socio-demographic groups in the national population. Substantive representation, meanwhile, is concerned with the extent to which parliament acts in the interest of certain population groups (irrespective of whether or not members of parliament consider themselves as members of those groups).

Indicator 16.7.1 focuses on descriptive representation. The underlying assumption is that when parliament reflects the social diversity of a nation, this may lead to greater legitimacy of the parliament in the eyes of the electorate, as members resemble the people they represent in respect to gender, age, ethnicity and disability. Descriptive representation has been found to be associated with higher levels of trust in public institutions, as people feel closer to elected representatives who resemble them and perceive more visibly representative political bodies with better quality and fairness of policy decisions, and with less undue influence of vested interests over decision-making. Such descriptive representation should then enhance the substantive influence of population groups.

The methodology for this indicator measures representation in parliamentary decision-making with respect to the sex and age of members of parliament. It identifies the extent to which the proportion of women members of parliament, and the proportion of young members of parliament, corresponds to the proportion of these groups in society as a whole.

A different approach is taken with regard to disability and population group status, which focuses on electoral and constitutional provisions guaranteeing the representation of persons with disabilities and various population groups in national parliaments (see ‘Comments and limitations’).

‘Decision-making positions’ in national parliaments

Target 16.7 focuses on ‘decision-making’ and the extent to which it is responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative. For the purpose of this indicator, three positions were identified for their importance in decision-making and leadership: Members of parliament, the Speaker of parliament and permanent committee Chairs. Broadly speaking, the decision-making power of individuals holding these positions can be described as follows:

• Members of parliament play important roles in public decision-making by voting on laws and holding the government to account.

• The Speaker of a legislature presides over the proceedings of parliament and typically plays a significant role in setting the parliamentary agenda and organizing the business of parliament. The Speaker is responsible for ensuring parliamentary business is conducted fairly and effectively, and for protecting the autonomy of the legislature in relation to the other branches of government.

• Committee Chairs preside over the work of parliamentary committees, and typically have great influence over the committee agenda and business, including the legislative and oversight work carried out. In addition, committee Chairs often participate in the management boards or bureau that guide the overall work of parliament. As the number and mandates of permanent committees vary between parliaments, for the sake of better-quality data and greater comparability, this indicator only considers five Permanent Committees: Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Human Rights and Gender Equality (see ‘Comments and limitations’).

Political representation and disaggregation dimensions

The indicator calls for disaggregation of positions by age, sex, contextually relevant population groups and disability status. The following international human rights instruments contain provisions on enhancing opportunities for political participation by individuals and groups holding such characteristics:

The right and opportunity to participate in public affairs

Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) recognizes “the right and opportunity, without distinction of any kind such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives”.

Sex

The 2000 Security Council Resolution 1325 and the six supporting resolutions between 2000-2013 on Women, Peace and Security urge member states to increase the numbers of women at all levels of decision-making institutions. The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life, including the right to vote and to stand for election, as well as to hold public office at all levels of government (Article 7). States parties agree to take all appropriate measures to overcome historical discrimination against women and obstacles to women’s participation in decision-making processes (Article 8), including legislation and temporary special measures (Article 4).

Measuring representation

• The significance of descriptive representation has been challenged in different ways. First, there is the question of what and who should be mirrored in the representative body; why be attentive to some groups (women, young people, minorities etc) but not others (the poor, LGBTI, "ethnic" groups who might not be officially recognized etc)? Second, the mirror notion of descriptive representation may be deemed dangerous if it precludes citizens from choosing representatives who do not look like them. One of the base tenets of democracy is freedom of choice at the ballot box and if one is corralled into having to vote for a candidate of your own sex or ethnicity, then that intrinsic liberty is constrained. Third, descriptive representation has the danger of ultimately becoming an end in itself. Concerns about effective representation should not end once parliament has the appropriate number of members for each minority groups. Indeed, at this stage concerns about adequate political representation should be just beginning. These members should be able to articulate minority concerns and have the same opportunities to influence policy as other members. Nevertheless, if a parliament includes none, or very few, women, young people, minorities etc., that is probably a worrying sign that their interests are not being heard.

• Representation needs to go hand in hand with participation, with both concepts being part of target 16.7. Without meaningful opportunities for citizens to participate in parliamentary

decision-making, representation alone is unlikely to automatically lead to effective popular control of the government - one of the fundamental principles of democracy (International IDEA, 2013).

• The age and sex of individuals holding decision-making positions in parliament provide an indication at the symbolic level of the way in which power is shared within this institution. However, there is no certainty that because a Speaker or committee Chair is young (or old), a woman (or a man), or belongs to a minority group, s/he will bring to the fore issues of interest to groups with the same socio-demographic profile.

• Tracking the age of MPs over time offers some measure of youth representation in parliament. However, in most parliaments around the world, leadership positions such as Speaker and permanent committee Chairs are considered senior functions which require considerable experience, and are awarded in recognition of parliamentary achievement. This means that such positions are by nature unlikely to be held by members below the ‘youth’ age bracket of ‘45 years old and under’. As such, for the positions of Speaker and committee Chairs, more relevant insights will be generated on the basis of sex disaggregation.

• IPU studies on women in parliaments have found that committees representing the three ‘hard’ policy portfolios of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Finance are traditionally male-dominated. The two other committees tracked by this indicator, representing cross-cutting portfolios of Human Rights and Gender Equality, are also of interest given their specific areas of focus. Although not found in every parliament, the very existence of these two committees suggests a particular commitment within parliament to safeguarding human rights and promoting gender equality.

• In certain countries, particularly Small Island Developing States, the number of members of parliament may be very small. Consequently, there may not be a committee system, or the committee system may not contain the same distribution by areas of responsibility as observed in the majority of parliaments. In addition, in parliaments with a very small number of members, the addition or reduction of just one or two people to the number of women or the number of young MPs may have a significant impact on the overall percentage of representation of these groups.

Methodology

• As regards the scope of ‘population groups’, while representation of minorities and indigenous peoples may be more often tracked by national parliaments due to the availability of internationally accepted definitions, the indicator also invites reporting on any other tracked population groups, including, for instance, occupational groups.

• An obvious limitation of this metadata is that it only considers members of parliament, in keeping with the focus of target 16.7 on ‘decision-making’. However, some parliaments may find it useful to also look at the composition of various staff categories such as clerks of the parliament, committee clerks or researchers, etc.

• Who holds the Chairs of parliamentary committees is largely tributary to the overall distribution of seats within the parliament. For example, parliaments with no members under the age of 30 will not have any committee Chairs under that age. Since committee chairs are typically awarded on the basis of experience and seniority, higher age groups are expected to be common among committee Chairs and Speakers.

Data collection

• In between reporting dates, it may be difficult to maintain up-to-date information on the results of by-elections held in selected constituencies to fill vacancies arising from the death or resignation of members.

• From one year to another during any given parliamentary term (typically 4 or 5 years), some Members may fall into a different age group amongst those considered for this indicator. For this reason, age of Members is collected at the time of their election to parliament.

• Age of Speakers and permanent committee Chairs is collected at the time of their appointment to the position, then verified and updated as of 1 January each year.

This Indicator aims to compare the proportion of various demographic groups (by sex, age and disability status) represented in the National Parliament and County Assemblies, with the proportion of these same groups in the national population.

Raw numbers of personnel in the legislature are compiled and disaggregated along position types (Members of Parliament, Speakers and Chairpersons of Committees)

Upon receiving filled-in data templates from JSC, KNBS reviews and validates the data as per the Kenya Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (KeSQAF) and Principles of Official statistics through the Governance Peace and Security Statistics Technical Working Committee.

Data on the sex of Speaks and Members of Parliament of Chairpersons of the National or County Assemblies. This data is compiled, analyzed and disseminated by KNBS.

Upon receiving filled-in data templates from JSC, KNBS reviews and validates the data as per the Kenya Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (KeSQAF) and Principles of Official statistics through the Governance Peace and Security Statistics Technical Working Committee.

Upon receiving filled-in data templates from JSC, KNBS reviews and validates the data as per the Kenya Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (KeSQAF) and Principles of Official statistics through the Governance Peace and Security Statistics Technical Working Committee.

KNBS developed a quality assurance framework (KeSQAF), to record and reference the full range of quality concepts, dimensions, and practices. These include; Relevance, accuracy, reliability, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, clarity, coherence, consistency, methodological soundness, and integrity.

Data Availability:

Data available at the National level.

Time Series

2015-2023

Disaggregation:

Disaggregated by sex

None

URl:

https://www.knbs.or.ke/download/economic-survey-2023/

References:

Economic Survey Report