Employment

Save for the more conservative members of the community, it is not understood as wrong for women to have jobs outside the home. But, in fact, few have. In part, this is because of the scarcity of employment combined with a general disinclination to hire women, and, in part, it is due to the restrictions of the job market where few occupations save nursing, teaching, and office work are open to women. Except for baby nurses (aya ), even house servants are generally men, and although Swahili would not consider accepting such jobs, this restriction suggests how limited women's employment opportunities are.

With virtually no exceptions, Swahili men have a job, are looking for one, or are retired from one. This means that while women's lives tend to focus around the home and immediate neighborhood, men's are centered outside the home and, often, include employment that is beyond not only the home and neighborhood but also the community.