On 12^th June 2024, KEPSA Foundation Executive Director Ms. Gloria Ndekei participated in the National Stakeholder’s Forum on Kenya’s 2024 report on the progress of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995 Review and Appraisal. The forum, held at Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi, was facilitated by the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action and brought together stakeholders from various government ministries, the Council of Governors, private sector, development partners, civil society organizations, and grassroots organizations.

Ms. Ndekei highlighted the mission of KEPSA Foundation, which serves as a part of a twin engine to accomplish KEPSA’s aim to attain global competitiveness. The Foundation provides private sector a platform for the socioeconomic transformation while enhancing the business environment and competitiveness. She discussed several initiatives that KEPSA and the KEPSA Foundation have implemented to promote gender equality and women's economic empowerment. These initiatives included the development of the Private Sector Gender Policy that the Foundation is pushing for validation, ownership and adaptation.

Ms. Ndekei noted that appointing gender champions across various industries was a strategic move for gender mainstreaming in business. She highlighted the implementation of the Private Sector Gender-Based Violence Advocacy Program and underscored the importance of the Better Business Practices for Children initiative for a sustainable future generation. Additionally, she spoke about the Kenya2Equal program, in which the Foundation is collaborating with International Finance Corporation (IFC), Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and Strathmore Business School.

These efforts have been instrumental in fostering gender responsiveness within the private sector and addressing the barriers that hinder women's career advancement, such as through mentorship and understudy initiatives. As a result, these initiatives have reduced absenteeism and improved employer-employee relationships, demonstrating a strong business case for the private sector's commitment to gender equality. Ms. Ndekei further elaborated on the Foundation's role in effecting   private sector's response to disasters. Following her appointment with other Private sector leaders to the National Steering Committee on Disaster Response, the Foundation will continue looking at collaborating with government for long term solutions to mitigate effects of disasters including early response to avert crisis.

Ms. Ndekei highlighted the Foundation's efforts to combat climate change through the Kijani initiative which was started in 2018 and has recently been enhanced through Chandaria foundation and childfund. This include tree planting and the establishment of nurseries and orchards in schools.

The Gender Secretary, Dr. Josephine Obonyo, led the forum on behalf of the Ministry of Gender, the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Aisha Jumwa, and the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action Principal Secretary, Anne Wang’ombe. Dr. Obonyo highlighted the journey of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA) since 1995, noting that its progress is reviewed every five years. In 2025, the world will mark thirty years since the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the BPFA, as well as ten years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is further anchored on Kenya’s gender priorities as aligned with the country's economic growth agenda, including the Constitution, Vision 2030 and its Medium-Term Plans (MTPs), and the Government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and its Women’s 9-point Agenda.

Dr. Obonyo emphasized that United Nations Member States are called upon to review and appraise the progress, achievements, setbacks, and challenges faced along the journey. These findings will be discussed at the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 69), scheduled for March 2025 at the UN headquarters in New York. The drafted progress report highlights several achievements, including the development of enabling policies, improvements in gender-responsive budgeting, the Ajira Digital Program's contribution to the digital economy, increased investment in gender-related programs, a rise in the number of women in leadership roles, and the private sector's efforts to create an enabling work environment for women.

Other speakers at the event included Equality Now Director Ms. Faiza Mohamed, SDG Kenya Forum Executive Director, Ms. Florence Syevuo, Anti-FGM Board CEO Ms. Bernadette Loloju, National Government Affirmative Action Fund CEO Mr. Roy Sasaka, and Council of Governors Legal Services Director Ms. Irene Ogamba. They applauded the positive strides the country has made while acknowledging the bottlenecks that continue to threaten this progress. Such challenges include the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change impacts such as floods and drought cycles, disproportionate care burdens, limited budgetary allocation, deep-seated cultural and societal norms, implementing the "not more than two-thirds" rule, and limited gender data.