International Women’s Day 2022: Kenyan women who shattered the glass ceiling

They are the trailblazers, pioneers, and glass ceiling shatters who helped to change and shape the world for all women who followed in their footsteps.

From the first Kenyan woman to commandeer a warship to the first woman to run for President of Kenya, Citizen.Digital looks back at the women who broke the glass ceiling in their respective industries.

1.Hariri Mwagandi, 

Mwagandi became the first Kenyan woman to commandeer a warship. 

Mwagandi, who is married and has a five-year-old daughter, received her junior officer conversion training both locally and abroad, with stints at the Kenya Navy headquarters in Mtongwe, Mombasa, and Manda Navy Base in Lamu.

Mwagandi is currently in command of the Kenya Navy's warship, the 'KNS Shupavu,' off the coast of Kenya.

2.Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong'o won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years a Slave at the 86th Academy Awards, making her the first Kenyan to win an Oscar.

She outperformed industry heavyweights such as Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine and Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle.

Lupita has gone on to win award after award, recognition after recognition, particularly in Hollywood, where she rubs shoulders with the elite.

Her journey to the top, like her Oscar acceptance speech, serves as a reminder to her and to every little child that no matter where you come from, your dreams are valid.

3.Charity Ngilu 

The incumbent governor of Kitui is no stranger when it comes to politics. She's been there, done that, and is still a political force to be reckoned with.

In the 1997 General Election, Ngilu became Kenya's first female presidential candidate, running on the Social Democratic Party of Kenya's ticket.

4.Wangari Maathai 

Professor Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Maathai was also the first woman in East and Central Africa to be awarded a doctorate.

Professor Maathai would become chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Nairobi, and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. 

She was the first woman in the region to hold those positions in both cases.

Her work was frequently viewed as unwelcome and subversive in her own country, where her outspokenness represented a significant departure from traditional gender roles.

She died on September 25, 2011. 

5.Elizabeth Marani

Elizabeth Marani navigated a career maze to become Kenya's first Marine Pilot, a journey marred by unconscious bias, microaggressions, harassment, and discrimination, as she would reveal in multiple interviews.

Marani revealed that she tarmacked for three years, pleading with shipping companies for job opportunities but being repeatedly turned down while her male coworkers advanced.

Despite this, she overcame adversity to become Kenya's first marine pilot, earning a place in history.

6.Pamela Jelimo

Jelimo, a Kenyan middle-distance runner, specialising in the 800 metres became the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold medal and also the first Kenyan to win the Golden League Jackpot. 

Her fast rise to stardom at just 18 years of age came with the biggest reward for a young athlete after spectacular shows in the 2008 Golden League.

After 12 straight victories, Jelimo bagged the League’s $1 million jackpot and some more millions as  bonus.

7.Tabitha Karanja 

Businesswoman Tabitha Karanja is the first Kenyan woman to own a beer brewery. 

From a low-paying accounting clerk at the Ministry of Tourism to launching her own wine-making company in 1997, she went on to expand into ready-to-drink gin and Vodka in 2007.

Ms Karanja has stood firm as a rock, her multibillion-dollar empire employing thousands and accounting for at least 20% of Kenya's total alcohol consumption during its heyday.

8.Patricia Kingori

Patricia Kingori, a sociologist, was appointed to a full professorship at the University of Oxford in December 2021, making her the youngest Black woman to receive tenure at Oxford or Cambridge.

Kingori was born in Kenya to a Kenyan father and a Caribbean mother and spent her childhood in St Kitts before moving to the United Kingdom with her family when she was in her early teens.

Her sister, Vanessa Kingori, is the first female publisher in British Vogue’s 102-year history.

9.Orie Rogo Manduli

Orie Rogo Manduli, Kenya's first female rally driver, was a well-known fashionista who always dressed to the nines.

Manduli was the first Kenyan woman to participate in the East African Safari rally in 1974 and 1975, and was known for her large head scarves and African-style clothing.

10.Captain Joyce Beckwith

Joyce Beckwith, 34, of Kenya, is the world's first black hot-air balloon pilot. She is affectionately known as Captain Smiles, and for good reason: she is always smiling, ear-to-ear.

Captain Smiles received her license in 2018 from New Mexico's renowned Airborne Heat Balloon Flying School. She began commercial flying in 2019. She first flew in a hot air balloon as a passenger in 2008 and fell in love with flying.

11. Irene Koki Mutungi

Captain Irene Koki Mutungi, also known as Koki Mutungi, made history when she became the first African woman to be certified as a Boeing 787 Dreamliner captain.

Kenya Airways recognized Captain Koki as a woman of many firsts who set the standard for others in the aviation industry when she was hired as their first female pilot in 1995 and served as the only female pilot for six years.