Gender Differences in Job Satisfaction among Support Staff in Public County Secondary Schools in Homa Bay County, Kenya

The purpose of this study is to investigate gender differences in job satisfaction among support staff in public county secondary schools in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The study population comprised 1176 support staff and 76 principals. Simple random sampling technique was to select 353 support staff and 8 principals from county schools giving a total of 361 who participated in the study as respondents. Mixed method approach was adopted where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The study used questionnaires, focus group discussion guides and interview guides to collect data from the respondents. The quantitative data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics involving frequency distributions, percentages and means and inferential statistics involving t-test. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that there were statistically significant gender differences in job satisfaction among support staff in public county secondary schools t(327)= -61.824, p=.000. The findings of the study may be of value if the job satisfaction strategies are adopted by Boards of Management to the support staff in public secondary schools to both gender in order to enhance their job satisfaction and productivity in their work. From the study findings, it was concluded that there were gender differences in job satisfaction among support staff in public county secondary schools in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The gender differences were in favor of females. The study therefore recommended that for the gender parity in job satisfaction among the support staff to reduce, school management should include job preferences during employment as women place greater importance on work-balance and the intrinsic desirability of work. School administrators should also engage male support staff in decisions that affect the school in order to reduce gender gap in their job satisfaction.