lighting powered by the electricity grid in Nairobi County, both the Shona and Kenyans report almost the same level of access (90 percent vs. 91 percent). While a nominal difference in primary education is observed for the Shona community compared to nationals, the difference is more pronounced at the secondary level. Primary school attendance is slightly lower for Shona children ages 6–13 years compared to urban Kenyan children (81 percent vs. 86 percent). At the secondary level, urban nationals are almost twice as likely to be attending school than their Shona peers (50 percent vs. 28 percent). Among the Shona, there is a significant gender gap in secondary educational attainment, with 20 percent of men having some secondary or higher education compared to 11 percent of women. For urban Kenyans, the gender gap is smaller, although men are likely to be more highly educated than women. The lower transition to secondary school for the Shona may partly be explained by the fact that a birth certificate is required to register for primary 8 (the last grade in primary) in order to continue to the secondary level. Moreover, as the employment rate for Shona youth is higher than that of nationals, low secondary school attendance can also be explained by the high opportunity cost of going to school, suggesting that Shona youth may drop out of school to enter the labor market. The COVID-19 pandemic has translated into zero attendance for the Shona, thus posing additional challenges to building human capital. Literacy rates for the Shona community are high, but slightly lower than the national urban average and vary significantly by gender. While 89 percent of the Shona population report being able to read and write in at least one language, 93 percent of urban nationals can do so. Male Shonas report a slightly higher literacy rate at 93 percent, compared to 85 percent of women. In contrast, urban national rates are 95 percent and 91 percent for men and women, respectively. Considering the two official languages in Kenya, English and Swahili, more than 75 percent of the Shona community population can read and write in at least one of them: English (74 percent) and Swahili (87 percent). The employment rate of the Shona community is higher than for urban nationals, although this does not translate into lower poverty rates; most of the employed Shona are self-employed. Most of the working-age Shona population is employed, which is slightly higher than the urban Kenyan average (73 percent vs. 69 percent). However, the Shona poverty rate remains higher than for nationals. Moreover, nearly 8 in 10 Shona employed are self-employed compared to only 3 in 10 among nationals. Such a differing trend may be explained by the lack of identity documents needed to access the formal employment market, which may force most of the Shona community to engage in self-employment to earn a living. Only 2 percent of the Shona report being unemployed, which is in line with the 4 percent of urban Kenyans, whereas 24 percent are outside the labor force (OLF) compared to the national urban average of 27 percent. The findings from the Shona SES also reflect differences in intra-household bargaining power among men and women. Overall, Shona community women are less likely to be involved in decision making, be less educated, and have lower labor force participation. Women and girls in the Shona community have lower overall educational attainment, attendance, and literacy rates than Shona men and boys. In addition, when the two official languages in Kenya are considered, fewer women can speak Swahili and English than men. While higher literacy is associated with higher levels of education and socioeconomic standing, proficiency in an official language of Kenya may help facilitate integration into the local community and employment opportunities. This implies that the lower literacy rate among women can xii  Understanding the Socioeconomic Conditions of the Stateless Shona Community in Kenya 10183_Shona Report.indd 12 12/14/20 2:56 PM