Women’s work in Kenya’s Athi River Export Processing Zone

In 1990, the World Bank funded the establishment of the Athi River Export Processing Zone (EPZ) just outside of Nairobi with the purposes of developing Kenya’s garment industry, exporting business, and creating employment for thousands of Kenyans. ¹ Similar to other African countries, where women traditionally maintain the home while their husbands go to work, a job in a clothing factory represented first-time employment for most women. With this came promises of independence, stability, skill development, mobility, and an improved quality of life.