Coalition Asks Firms to End Gender Bias in Staffing, Promotion

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

A coalition of gender equality advocates, Nigeria Women in Leadership (WIL) Cohort, has called on Nigeria’s private sector and labour policymakers to take urgent, measurable action to end the systemic exclusion of women from formal employment.

The demand followed new data from the Women in the Workplace 2024 report published by McKinsey & Company, showing that women held just one in three entry-level roles in Nigeria’s private sector. 

The coalition, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, signed by Hannatu-Favour Asheolge, said an analysed gender representation data from 65 companies in Nigeria, Kenya, and India by McKinsey found that in Nigeria, women held only 33 per cent of entry-level private sector jobs, despite being nearly half the workforce.

The statement said the data painted a sober picture of the challenges facing Nigerian women in formal employment.

It read, “While women make up nearly half of the country’s labour force, their representation in private sector jobs remains low, dropping even further as they move up the ladder.

“In the finance sector, women’s representation drops by 19 percentage points between entry-level and executive roles.

“This report speaks to what many Nigerian women already know. The real problem starts from the entry-level hiring process.”

The statement quoted Executive Director of Women in Management and Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Omowunmi Akingbohungbe, as lamenting the development.

Akingbohungbe stated, “If we are serious about growth, we need to build systems that ensure women get equal opportunity from the start and the relevant support to help them rise.

“Companies that fail to harness the full talent pool are holding themselves back. Civil society advocates are calling on Nigerian companies to take bold, measurable action on workplace gender equity starting with gender-equal entry-level hiring targets and report on the progress publicly.

“They are also called on the government and regulatory bodies to create better policies to ensure women’s advancement in the workplace, in order to compel greater compliance.”

The founder of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), Abosede George-Ogan, said, “Existing laws must be updated. There is an urgent need to review and strengthen Nigeria’s labour policies to protect women from discrimination, ensure equal pay for equal work, and enforce maternity protections and safe, inclusive work environments.”