ABSTRACT
This ethnographic research interrogates the role gender plays in the formation of modern women elites among the Maasai of Kenya. Debates concerning women in positions of power, such as being elites in society, have generated tremendous research on women. However, the way in which elite women from indigenous and marginalized groups are configured and consolidated to positions of power has not been studied. Indigenous inclusion in state-level positions of power is a major governmental concern. The study of female elites continues to be important because the elite play significant roles in public debates and policy engagements, and there is less representation of women from indigenous groups. This study explores how global influences at international levels are allowing the formation of a considerable female elite, even as the fight for acceptance persists in a heavily patriarchal culture. This chapter demonstrates how global resources and exposures are articulated at the local level and help inform, fund, and educate women on their rights to positions of power, sometimes more than the state can provide.
