This article was written by Joy Udochi Okeagu, Program Officer, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Nigeria

  • The problem: The slow progress and challenges in bridging the gender equality gap in the civil service.
  • Why it matters: Civil servants are the custodians of gender policies; there is a need to look inward and review how well this gap has been bridged in the civil service.
  • The solution: Moving beyond policies and implementing activities ‘just for the sake of them’ to more strategic action.

Gender equity refers to fairness and justice in the treatment of individuals, regardless of their gender. It focuses on promoting equal opportunities and outcomes for people of all genders. On the other hand, gender equality is the concept that all genders should have the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities. Gender equity leads to actual gender equality. Actual gender equality means equal outcomes for men and women and equal enjoyment by women and men of goods, opportunities, resources and rewards.

💬 Let the author know what you think about gender equality in the Nigerian Civil Service by leaving a comment below

In Nigeria, the gender gap in the civil service has been a significant barrier to achieving gender equity and equality, although efforts have been made to develop a National Gender Policy aimed at addressing and promoting equal opportunities in the country. However, according to scholars Urhibo and Adeniyi, the Nigerian civil service has witnessed more formidable barriers which originate from powerful gender role stereotypes where narrow-minded beliefs about the ‘kinds of tasks for which women are most appropriately suited’ persist. Despite the national government creating the Ministry of Women Affairs 29 years ago, there is no doubt that the government shapes and limits women’s role in the civil service. Mukoro has stated that ‘Nigerian women are still struggling to find ways to break the glass ceiling imposed on them in the civil service’. Well-educated women in the Nigerian civil service continue to face numerous contradictions between ‘what they need to survive and what is possible under current administrative laws, religious and traditional social structures in the country’. This is again attributed to various reasons.

Education is a barrier for women

At the point of entry into the Nigerian civil service, recruitment is based on qualifications/merit, yet this relies on the even distribution of formal education between males and females. However, with a greater number of males educated and qualified, more men are likely to progress into executive positions than women. As such, women are underrepresented in the public sector due to historical, religious and cultural patterns of educational development. Such patterns of educational development in Nigeria have influenced the percentage of women in managerial positions, which stands at 31.4% as of 2019. Given the reduced representation of women in managerial roles in the civil service, new female entrants lack mentors, unlike their male counterparts, who are easily introduced to what is sometimes called the ‘old boys association’. There has also been a negative perception of women in managerial positions in the civil service. A survey showed that women in the civil service worried about the negative consequences of visibility, which may include sexual harassment or other forms of unsolicited advancement.

The National Gender Policy

The Federal Ministry of Women's Affairs, with the support of partners and stakeholders, developed the National Gender Policy (NGP). An implementation framework was developed in 2006 and revised in 2021. The revised policy is premised on six key principles to achieve the expected outcomes, part of which is ‘changing the perception of women and increasing respect for women’s rights’, ‘promotion and protection of women’s rights with a guarantee to equal access to productive resources’ and the ‘promotion of national accountability to gender equality’.

There is also a need to look inward into the civil service and redesign policies that will support the growth of women in the civil service.

While improvements have been noted in the increase in the number of laws and policies protecting women’s rights — such as the 2015 Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act — there is a gap in cross-sectoral support in achieving this agenda. Analysts like Malcolm Durosaye discussed in his article how the National Orientation Agency (NOA) failed to capture the sensitisation campaign on gender equality as part of its 2021-2026 strategic action plan. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has also been unable to update statistics since 2015 to reflect an increase or decrease in the percentage of women in the government’s workforce, which could have served as a major yardstick to measure the progress of the NGP. In addition, female representation in political governance is below 8%, against a goal of 30%. Going by the impact of the NGP, the implementation progress of the policy is below expectation, hence the uncertainty in bridging the gender gap in the civil service.

Although the NGP has a well-structured implementation framework which serves as a guide in achieving the expected result, there has also been a ‘paucity’ of funds. Nevertheless, some partners and stakeholders are willing to co-design and support programmes that will help to achieve the gender goals between 2021-2026.

To further support this agenda, the data on women’s representation in the Federal and State Civil Service should be updated beyond what it was between 2010 and 2015 (38% and 42% of state and federal government workers, respectively). There is also a need to look inward into the civil service and redesign policies that will support the growth of women in the civil service. For instance, there is still no gender budgeting or mainstreaming at the federal and state levels. Overall, there is a need for more concerted action in line with the NGP policy to close the gender gaps within the civil service and promote representation of women at the national and state levels.

Done reading? Make sure to share your own thoughts by leaving a comment below ⬇️

(Image credit: Pexels)