Abstract Background Gender-related constraints reflect gender inequalities in access to resources and development opportunities. Access to productive assets is a major issue in the gender empowerment discourse. Despite the significant roles women play in agriculture and food security in many developing countries, they continue to have a poorer command over a range of productive resources, including education, land, information and financial resources compared to their men counterparts. The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of access and control of productive resources on bean production. Results Data collected from 412 households in the major bean corridors of Kenya (Homa Bay, Machakos, Bomet and Narok counties) were used to explain the importance of access to productive resources and income use in determining the quantity of beans produced by households. We found that the sex of the respondent was significantly correlated with bean production, with female-headed households producing less beans than the male-headed ones (p = 0.0.08). With regard to access and control of productive resources, households with more agricultural incomes and those who put a larger proportion of their land to agriculture produced more beans (p = 0.008; p = 0.000, respectively). Access and use of fertilized and hired labour was also highly significant. When assessing decision making on the use of income from bean sales was considered, households where the female spouse made decisions produced less beans compared to those that had the male household head being the main decision maker (p = 0.011). Conclusions We concluded that access and control of productive assets are important in determining the quantity of beans produced at household level. There is a need therefore to come up with interventions which will benefit all the households but are targeted to the needs of the male- and female-headed households.