The Global Gender Gap report 2017 released by the World Economic Forum, places Nigeria in 122ndposition out of 144 countries in closing the gender gap. While there is a gradual closing of the gender gap in terms of labour force participation this has yet to translate as expected to gender parity in the workplace.
Although more women are now engaging in full-time formal work because of increased access to education, women still face a range of obstacles in the workplace which prevent them from realizing their full career potential. These include wage parity, inadequate maternity leave, sexual harassment, and slow promotion to top managerial positions (Adejugbe and Adejugbe, 2018). The effect of this is that women do not reach those executive level positions where they are able to actively participate in decision making that enhances the process of inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) advocates that to achieve a more diverse and inclusive workplace we need to ensure that more women reach top positions where they can navigate, negotiate and influence real change. Furthermore, WISCAR advocates that the tools for enabling the attainment of a gender-friendly workplace are effective and far-reaching workplace policies, structured mentorship programmes and a revamp of our existing legal framework.
This article thus explores the current situation of women in the Nigerian workplace. It examines the obstacles preventing women from getting ahead in the workplace and provides recommendations on what can be done by companies and the Nigerian government to ensure women progress and thrive in their careers for the ultimate benefit of our nation.
Current situation of women in Nigerian workplace
Traditionally, given the nature of Nigeria’s patriarchal society men have always been assigned the role of breadwinner in the family, while women have played the role of home keepers and child carers (Adejumoke and Olowookere, 2012). The large entry of Nigerian women into the workplace is due to economic necessity and increased opportunities which enable women to exercise independence of choice. A study conducted by Y. A. Aluko on family stability and the working woman indicates that women work for largely financial reasons. She concludes that the decision to work does not preclude women from still performing their primary role as carers for the family, making the idea of the ‘male breadwinner’ increasingly obsolete. The economic necessity of having more women engage in commerce in a corporate workplace built for men also has the downside of subjecting women to countless obstacles within that environment. These include rigid hours of work, competitive growth opportunities, and corporate culture (i.e. the way we do things here syndrome) that fail to consider work-life integration. A woman in the corporate work-place today battles with navigating an unfriendly work terrain with inadequate policies regarding maternity leave, re-entry following time-off and sexual harassment. Women unlike men thus constantly face this dilemma of choosing between a successful career or building a family as the two are often pitched as mutually exclusive or at the very least one taking priority over the other.
Researchers Duxbury and Higgins (1991) have found that unless adequate policies exist to create this integration there will be negative results such as dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, and perception of lower quality life. This is the story of a lot of women since we are not adequately protected by company policies and the law.
Obstacles facing women in the Nigerian workplace
The first major obstacle for women in the workplace is our legislation. The prevailing laws of the country do not give wide coverage and recognition to the rights of women in the workplace. Where provisions are made, they fail to provide wide enough protection to address the wide range of needs. For example, in the manufacturing sector, the law impedes the appointment of female executives in core manufacturing roles which makes it hard for women to succeed in this field. Section 55 of the Labour Act 2004, for instance, stipulates that women cannot undertake manual labour overnight, and there was a case of a multinational manufacturing company that was penalized for allowing women to work on its production line at night. This law like a myriad of others seeks to offer women protection but in fact, denies women the right to choose.
The implications of these types of legislative provisions are perhaps far more reaching than are otherwise obvious. For instance, while managers in some manufacturing companies are pressured to meet the company’s diversity targets they are often faced with the dilemma of justifying a woman’s promotion to managerial level, particularly where she has not been on the shop floor for a night shift. The solution is not to legislate blindly which may inadvertently lead to infringing on the very rights which the law seeks to protect, but through advocacy and consultation provide adequate protection through changes in policies and laws to make the workplace safer for all human aspirations to be fulfilled.
A second obstacle is the lack of women’s participation in decision making. While more women in Nigeria are being included in top positions this is being done at a slow rate. A recent Jobberman report, suggests that the proportion of females hired over a decade in Nigeria across different industries witnessed significant growth between 2007 and 2017. This led them to conclude that women will be well represented in the future workforce. The article also suggests that there are more females in entry-level positions today than 10 years ago, leading them to further conclude that these women will go on to grow through the ranks to senior positions. While we recognize the growth in the numbers of women entering the workforce, experience from running mentorship programmes shows that beyond statistics, ensuring that women move up the corporate ladder requires the deployment of tools such as mentorship, role-modelling, and leadership training, to in fact realize the desired growth.
If women constituted 50percent of top board positions there would be more empowered professional women, an enriched talent workforce, companies would become more profitable and the nation would develop and grow economically. Our families, value system and society would also be the better for it as young children would have a balanced of view of the role of men and women in moving society forward. We emphasise the last point because of the direct correlation of empowered women and a healthy thriving household and community.
Recommendations
Several recommendations have been made towards creating a gender diverse and friendly workplace, this article, however, has chosen to focus on legislation, policy, and empowerment.
The Gender and Equal Opportunities bill– We have seen that Nigeria’s working women deserve better legal protection than that currently afforded by the Labour Act 2004. A starting point towards achieving greater protection for women in the workplace is the ratification of the Gender and Equal Opportunities bill which gives effect to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the International Covenants on Human Rights, certain aspects of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Although the proposed bill is not far-reaching in terms of elimination of all forms of workplace inequity it presents a good start for utilizing in corporate activism.
Maternity leave – The poor provisions regarding maternity protection are in desperate need of reform. For example, the punitive damages stipulated in sections 56 – 58 (2) of the Labour Act 2004 for organisations who fail to comply with the general maternity provisions should be reformed to at least reflect present-day realities (Adejugbe and Adejugbe, 2018; Labour Act 2004). We advocate that all companies at a minimum should provide child care services either with an on-site or off-site day-care or breast feeding room or consider flexible working which is no longer a strange practice in 2019.
Target gender ratio – Companies especially in sectors where women are under-represented should have a clear hiring target aimed at the percentage of female employees within the workforce and in top management positions (IndiaToday). This could be achieved by actively initiating and enforcing diversity recruitment policies. Actively recruiting women strengthens the number of women represented in the company. If women constituted 50percent and it would be harder to ignore their needs. Once women are in the workplace introducing workplace programmes that create a level playing field ensuring that women have fair opportunities for promotion becomes the next initiative to tackle.
Structured Mentorship and Sponsorship programs – Structured mentorship is a forward-looking workplace gender programme that supports women in workplaces and enables them to become promotable and break the glass ceiling. What mentorship provides is a network and support system that works to build capacity and empower women to thrive and succeed. Mentorship is not new and it a system that the old corporate guard has used formally and informally to get-ahead in the workplace. From after- work hours socialising in gentlemen clubs, to grooming a selected successor within the workplace, these are tools which men have used to climb the corporate ladder. Formal mentoring programmes for women thus seek to address the unique needs of women through role modelling and training. At WISCAR we advocate and demonstrate the importance of mentorship and we promote the importance of access to both male and female mentors. In addition to workplace mentoring, women can individually join professional mentorship programs provided by other organizations. The Win –with WISCAR mentoring programme is one such programme that empowers young professional women through its structured and unique one-year mentoring programme. Through this flagship programme, WISCAR has empowered over 300 young women who have testified to the programme as a contributor to their progression and current success. Sponsorship, on the other hand, is a more active role which requires sponsors to promote the individual within the workplace.
Amina Oyagbola
Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR)
Written by Amina Oyagbola, supported by Fabia Ogunmekan & Abisola Peters
