The focus of the 2022 International Women’s Day Celebration is Break the Bias.
Dataphyte reviews data that defines women in Nigerian society, highlighting areas that require improvements and areas that require an overhaul of gender-focused policies that will truly #BreaktheBias.
70-80 Percent in Agriculture
Nigerian women are the backbone of the agricultural sector. They are found everywhere across the agricultural food chain. Statistically, they make up 70 to 80 percent of agricultural labour in the country.
Women in the country are behind the bulk food production for domestic consumption. They are also available to offer much-needed food processing, marketing, and preservation services.
All of the above is despite having very limited access to land with just 14% of women smallholder farmers holding rights on land where they farm; they also benefit the least from credit facilities, farm input training and advice, technology and crop insurance among other things.
There is a significant Financial Inclusion Gender Gap in Nigeria which if addressed can be contributive to the agricultural sector’s achievement of its multidimensional potential.
23 Million Entrepreneurs and Counting
Nigeria has over 23 million female entrepreneurs and they account for over 43% of the ownership of micro-businesses all over the country. Micro-businesses have been described as the engine room of the country. Women continue to chart their own course through the treacherous terrain of significant and widening financial inclusion gap.
56.24% of Primary School Teachers
There are more registered female teachers than males in Nigeria. Out of 1.38 million registered teachers in the country, 778,347 are women.
Female teachers make up 56.24% of the total registered teachers in the country.
50.47% of Secondary School Teachers
Just like it was in the primary schools, so also it is in secondary schools. Though the number of female teachers in secondary school drops in proportion to the male, it is still slightly higher.
Female teachers in secondary schools are 268,661 of the total number of 532,280 registered teachers in the country, making up 50.47% of the total registered teachers in the country.
The number of female to male lecturers are significantly lower.
23.66% Academic Staff in University
Out of 72,443 academic staff in Nigerian Universities, only 17,350 are female.
A breakdown of the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) data shows that women are more in the junior category and representation drops the higher you look.
Out of 41,017 academic staff in the lecturer one and below cader, 10,987 are female, representing 26.8% of the total. The percentage reduced to 22.9% for the senior lecturer cadre (3,329 out of 14,314).
The percentage for reader and professor cader are 20.9% and 15.2%, respectively.
35% Female Medical Practitioners
Thirty-five percent of the medical practitioners in the country are women. Data from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria shows that out of 20,005 registered practitioners, 9,189 are women.
There are however more female dentists than medical doctors. While there are 555 dentists out of the total of 1,365 dentists, there are just 8,634 medical doctors out of 24,640 medical doctors.
48.69% Completed Primary School
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) reported that out of 2.51 million who complete primary education, 1.02 million are female. This shows that 48.69% of those that completed primary education are female. The number varies with respect to the type of institution attended. Data shows that more females graduated from private schools than public schools, 48.21% females graduated from public primary schools while 51.26% graduated from private primary schools.
46.74% Secondary School Enrolment
Data from the Federal Ministry of Education shows that of the 4.32 million pupils enrolled in secondary schools, 2.02 million are females. This represents 46.74% of the total enrollment in secondary schools.
50.57% Success in WAEC
Females performed better than males in the school certificate examinations. Of the 1.398 million students who got credit and above in five subjects, including English and Mathematics, in the 2021 WAEC May/June examinations, 644,646 were girls.
This shows that the girls performed better than the boys in the recent results recording 50.57% success.
43.14% University Enrolment
Enrollment, however, is lower than the performance in school certificate examinations, though the gap is closing.
Over the years, there has been an increase in the proportion of female students to male. The proportion increased from 48.87% (2,314 out of 4,735) in the 2015/16 session to 49.54% (2,515 out of 5,077) in the 2016/17 session.
The latest data from the NUC shows that of the 2.16 million students in the universities, 931,523 of them are females. This makes up 43.14% of total enrollment in universities across the country.
The gap in enrollment is higher at postgraduate levels.
50.1% Law Students
Data from the Council for Legal Education shows that there are more female law students than males. Out of 5,960 students registered in the 2017/18 session, 2,986 of them are female. 50.1% of law students in that academic session are females, an improvement over the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 figures.
58.5% in Apprenticeship
Data from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) shows that out of 12,594 apprentices in 2018, 7,368 of them were female. This indicates that 58.5% of the apprentices in the country are female.
Though there was a drop in the number of apprentices in the year compared to the previous, the proportion of males to females still stands out. In 2017, out of 79.182 apprentices, 51,075 were female showing a 64.5% proportion.
43.43% in MSMEs
At least 4 of every ten people operating Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria are women. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that out of 2.89 million sampled MSMEs owners in the country, 1.26 million of them are women.
This shows that women MSMEs make up 43.43% of the total. The MSMEs are referred to as the drivers of the economy.
65% Informal Sector GDP contribution
The informal sector generated about 65% of the country’s GDP and this sector is dominated by women being the principal labour force in this sector. Nigerian women are involved in long hours of trade in different places. They can be seen in the marketplaces, by the streets, in shops and small kiosks, and by the roadside conducting business and offering various services.
42.1% in MDAs
Two (2) of every 5 employees in Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are women.
Data shows that of the 101,540 employed in the various MDAs in the country, 43,170 of them are women, representing 42.1% of those employed in the MDAs.
45.5% of the Labour Force
According to World Bank data, 45.5% of Nigeria’s labour force are women and although the numbers have continued to improve, it is yet to reach parity.
50% of Employable Women in the Labour Force
Labour force participation for women is on the average as only 50% of employable women are participating in the labour force. The shift to a service-based economy will likely enhance women’s participation through entrepreneurial involvement.
40.57% Principal Judicial Officers
At the judiciary, out of 991 principal officers occupying the top position at the various courts, 286 of them are female. This shows that 40.57% of the principal officers are female.
However, in terms of proportion, there has been an increase in the number of female officers. The proportion of female officers increased from 46.78% in 2016 to 47.03% in 2017. It further dropped to 40.57% in 2018.
But in nominal terms, there have been increases. As the number increased from 276 in 2016 to 253 in 2017 then to 286 in 2018.
16.28% Ministerial Appointees
The proportion of female political appointees continues to be low. Data shows that it has not exceeded 20% in the last seven years.
Out of 43 ministerial appointments made in 2019, only 7 are female. This accounted for just 16.28% of the total appointments in the year.
From 2016 to 2018, the proportion has been 19.44% in 2016, 13.16% in 2017, and 16.22% in 2018. In nominal terms, it was 7 out of 29 in 2016, 5 out of 33 in 2017, and 6 out of 31 in 2018.
6.18% at the National Assembly
Women’s representation at the National Assembly (NASS) has been a concern. Of the total 440 seats in the 9th Assembly, only 29 are occupied by women. That is a total of 6.18% of women in the chamber.
Over the years, the proportion has been dismal, never reaching 8% representation at the NASS.
26.96% NSCDC Personnel
There are 26.96% female personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. Data from the NSCDC as collected by NBS shows that out of 55,919 personnel in 2019, 15,077 of them are female.
Data shows that there are more females in the Inspector cadre than the other cadres. Out of 15,312 personnel in the Inspectorate cadre, 6,983 are female, that is 31.32% of NSCDC Inspectorate cadre.
The Superintendent cadre has even less with 26.82% female representation (2,731 of 7,451) while the Assistant cadre has 22.88% (5,363 of 18,079).
9.75% Police Officers
Out of 203,024 police officers in the country, only 19,785 are female, a mere 9.75% of total police officers.
Data from the force headquarters as reported by NBS shows that the number of female officers drops as they go up the ranks. Out of 123,484 officers in the Rank & File category, 12,520 are female, representing 10.14%.
There are 5 ,561 female Police Inspectors out of 61,723 Inspectors. Only 1,614 out of 17,817 of Senior Police Officers are female. This means that only 9.16% of Inspectors and 9.05% of the Senior Officers are female.
128,320 Sexual Based Violence Cases
In the year 2020, a total of 128,320 cases of sexual-based violence were reported. A breakdown shows that most of the cases reported were incidences of domestic violence. At least 8 out of the reported cases of sexual violence were on domestic violence.
Domestic violence accounted for 107,440 of the total 128,320 cases. This shows that 83.7% of the sexual violence cases were on domestic violence.
Sexual violence had 9680 cases reported and on rape is 11,200.
104,280 Women Rights Abuses in 2020
No less than 104,280 women in Nigeria reported rights violations in the year 2020. Data shows that the majority of the violations were abandonment, 57.8% followed by denial of inheritances which made up 25.66% of total rights abuses against women.
139 out of 156
Nigeria is ranked 139th of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum global gender gap report. The country is only ahead of 17 countries in the ranking and actually dropped by 11 places in the 2021 ranking compared to the 2020 ranking. The country moved from 128th position in 2020 to 139th position in 2021.