Nigeria’s Gender Gap

Gender imbalance is prevalent in almost every pillar and manner of life in Nigeria as a result of culture, religious beliefs and improper education. Women are considered to be subordinate to men and it is clearly reflected in disparities between men and women in education, the labour force and leadership. 2020, Nigeria has a live female population of 102,906,333 (49.4% of total population) – the disregard of women is detrimental to Nigeria’s sustenance, let alone its growth. It is imperative that Nigerian leaders understand the benefits of reducing the gender gap and take immediate action.

The fifth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by the United Nations is: gender equality. There is a global drive towards gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by the year 2030. Some of the targets of this goal include:

- Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls worldwide

- Eliminating all harmful practices (eg, child marriages and female genital mutilation)

- Ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership

- Reforms for equal rights for women (including ownership, property, finance and control over land)

Investing in women and girls has been called the ‘magic multiplier’; studied to have multiplier effects powerful enough to transform nations. With increases in platforms and opportunities given to women, the closer the world gets to a state of maximum socioeconomic gain. Additionally, achieving SDG 5 of gender equality contributes to the achievement of other SDGs such as promoting decent work and economic growth through full employment (SDG 8), no poverty (SDG 1), zero hunger and food security (SDG 2), good health and wellbeing (SDG 3) and reducing inequalities (SDG 10).

There is a strong correlation between human capital and economic growth and in almost all cases this lies as the turning point of development within a country. The main source of human capital accumulation is through education; the training available will determine the long-term macroeconomic status of a country. Studies have examined the ways in which increased investment in education leads to higher productivity, earnings, higher social rates of return, gross national product (GNP) and finally, life expectancy.

Attributed to the socially created gender differences when it comes to nurturing and educating their families, the marginal benefit of education is much higher for women and is precisely why female education is integral to social and economic development. Educated women are a more yielding addition to the labour force. Furthermore, educated women tend to be healthier, which leads to them having healthier children and contributing to the lowering of child mortality rates. The more educated women tend to marry at a later age and have fewer children due to more knowledge and awareness on reproductive health and family planning. These factors work together towards enhancing development and the pulling of nations, out of poverty. Unfortunately, girls and women still face educational exclusion across Nigeria, today.

Accordingly, a clear gender disparity can be seen in the Nigerian workplace. The following are percentages of women in certain professions in Nigeria in 2018:

- Architects – 2.4%

- Lawyers/Jurists – 25.4%

- Lecturers – 11.8%

- Obstetricians and Gynaecologists – 8.4%

- Paediatricians – 33.3%

- Media Practitioners – 18.3%

Although women’s participation in formal and informal labour markets has been steadily rising with the overall female labour force participation in Nigeria growing from 39.3% in 1990 to 45.5% in 2019, it is important to note that there is a strong over-representation of Nigerian women in the primary sector with 73.15% of women involved in farm activities while 26.85% were engaged in non-farm business activities (manufacturing, sales and services). With this over-representation comes less access to control and ownership of land in comparison to men and for the lower percentage in non-farm business activities, women oftentimes do not have the same opportunities as men in reaching the upper echelons of the related businesses.

Gender equality is associated with general human development and a higher income per capita. The lack thereof is evident in the disparity between Nigeria’s GDP and GDP per capita world rankings. Although in 2019, Nigeria placed 30th in the world with a GDP of 448.10 billion US$, it placed 138th with a GDP per capita of only 2386.90 US$. Gender imbalance, among other factors is causal to Nigeria’s economic stagnancy and decline.

It is evident in most developed nations that reducing the gender gap leads to growth and prosperity. It is impossible for Nigeria to reach the much needed level of development and standard of living without adequate investment in girls and women and a sincere drive towards gender equality.

By Chioma Elsa Nwanna
myeconomicvisionboard.com