The share of women CEOs in Saccos rose to 36.9 percent in 2025, a bright spot in the financial sector that is dominated by male executives.
Latest data from the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra) shows women’s share of CEO posts within regulated Saccos rose from 33.33 percent in 2024, while their share of board seats edged up marginally to 25.5 percent from 25.44 percent.
The increase puts saccos ahead of listed companies, with women accounting for about 14 percent of CEO positions among companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
The broader corporate sector is also struggling with the gender gap, with the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) finding that women occupied 32 percent of CEO positions nationally in 2025, leaving men with over two-thirds.
Chief executives in banks is also a male affair, with women taking only five of the top job in Kenya’s 38 banks.
‘There was a marginal increase in the aggregate proportion of female CEOs in the regulated sacco industry to 36.9 percent in 2025 from 33.33 percent in 2024, thus ensuring that the regulated sacco industry employment demographic remained compliant with the constitutional one third gender rule,’ said Sasra.
In corporate Kenya, leadership progression is often tied to access to networks, capital and mentorship, areas where women have historically been underrepresented.
Sasra data came as the number of regulated saccos increased from 355 in 2024 to 357 in 2025, while directors rose from 3,019 to 3,047, with women taking nine of the 28 additional seats and men taking the remaining 19.
Women board directors increased from 768 to 777 over the year, while their male counterparts rose from 2,251 to 2,270, leaving men with 74.5 percent of board seats at the end of 2025.
This means that women remain 7.83 percentage points below the one-third benchmark, with approximately 239 additional women needed to reach that share if the total number of directors remains unchanged.
The slow movement in board representation contrasts with the increase in female CEOs, whose share rose by more than three percentage points in one year.
Among deposit-taking saccos, women accounted for 29.05 percent of chief executives in 2025, up from 24.29 percent in 2024, but held only 21.63 percent of board seats which was virtually unchanged from 21.64 percent.
These institutions are generally larger and more complex than non-withdrawable deposit-taking saccos, with Sasra saying they need targeted interventions to raise women’s board representation toward the levels recorded among their peers.
Non-withdrawable deposit-taking saccos recorded a higher female share of both CEO positions and directorships, although their boardrooms also remained below the one-third threshold.
Women accounted for 45.14 percent of CEOs in this segment in 2025, compared with 43.21 percent in 2024, while their share of board seats increased marginally from 29.44 percent to 29.58 percent.
Sasra places the responsibility for appointing CES with sacco boards, subject to the regulator’s prior approval.
Directors are accountable jointly to sacco members and the regulator for matters including records, internal controls and provisions for losses, making board compositions central to institutional oversight.
The Sasra report shows that the gender imbalance is more pronounced in the chairperson’s office, which remains dominated by men across both categories of saccos.
Among deposit-taking saccos, women held 14 of 179 chairperson positions in 2025, representing 7.82 percent, up from 11 positions or 6.21 percent in 2024.
In non-withdrawable deposit-taking Saccos, the number of women chairpersons fell from 20 to 19, reducing their share from 11.24 percent to 10.73 percent over the same period.
Women also lost ground in the vice-chairperson’s office among deposit-taking Saccos, where their representation fell from 18.39 percent in 2024 to 13.71 percent in 2025.