Underrepresentation Of Women In Managerial Position Sociology Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

From the mid 1970s across countries all over the world, particularly in developed countries such as United States; women began to work in management jobs such as secretarial and clerical jobs in considerable significant numbers. Following this, there have been different researches that have emerged to examine how women are developing and progressing in managerial positions particularly positions that involve women in management within the workplace (Powell and Butterfield, 1994).

Nigeria is known as the most populous country in West Africa with an estimated population of 140 million and the percentage of women is about 57 percent of the total population, yet the involvement of women in socio-political matters especially when it relates to such positions as managers where women will have to take part in major decision making roles is limited. This is as a result of gender issues within Nigeria's society because differences exist in the way men and women are treated (Anakwe, 2002).

Madiche (2009), argued that even though a significant number of women have changed occupations from traditional female occupations such as teaching and nursing to male dominated occupations such as engineering and banking, unfortunately, women are still underrepresented in managerial positions, because of unequal career advancement opportunities that hinders them from attaining managerial positions.

Nigeria is still a developing society where men are more highly valued than women, they dominate positions of authority more than women and it is a patriarchal society, where the cultural and social activities of women are governed by men and which favours the interest of men over that of women. The attitudes of the society about women accessing managerial position are being constrained by the gender roles of men and women (NGP, 2007). The Nigerian Civil Service is the largest employer in Nigeria and according to research, 76 percent of workers in the civil service constitute men while the remaining 24 percent are made up of women. Even though women are assigned to some managerial positions such as permanent secretaries, women still hold less than 14 percent of total managerial positions in the Nigerian civil service (CIDA Nigeria, GSAA, 2006).

Recent research by Okarfor et al., (2011), discovers that American women in significant numbers have not reached the heights of their careers, even though they are actively involved in managerial positions. Also in United Kingdom, in instances where women make up about 40 percent of total labour force, 26 percent of women are said to be in managerial type jobs, regardless of the fact that both men and women have opportunities to successfully be leaders, there exist barriers which hinder women from reaching top managerial positions.

This research study is centred on the experiences of women within the Nigeria Civil Service using Nigeria Ports Authority which is one of the many organizations of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Following the introduction, the statement of the problem and research questions was discussed. Relevant literatures on barriers that hinder women from advancing in their career were discussed to review the study. In-depth interview was the method adopted to carry out the research, which was followed by analyses of the data, summary of findings, recommendation and conclusion.

1.2 Statement of the Problem and Research Question

Managerial and professional positions are attached to a great deal of authority, respect and recognition. Those in this position are usually rewarded with high level of economic pay. However, the underrepresentation of women in management at the workplace is a fact which is known within Nigeria society. Studies reveal that over the last years, there has been an increase in the number of female managers across different organizations within the world, restructuring managerial positions from men toward women. Even at this, there are still issues surrounding women's advancement in their careers especially to managerial positions (Ismail, 2008).

In Nigeria, gender socializations is generating social discrimination against women within formal and informal work environment, men are seen as most appropriate for managerial positions. Women lack the skills and abilities that would make an efficient manager when compared to their male colleagues who are said to be fit for such positions. The entry of women into higher positions of authority in a society like Nigeria has resulted into stereotypes which have been questioned (Omaji, 1993; Kamoche, 1997).

The experiences of women in management in Nigerian civil service are peculiar social and cultural characteristics subjecting women to be under the authority of men within the society, not only experienced by women in the civil service but also women in the Nigerian society. Thus it is important to examine the factors that encourage or discourage women from advancing to managerial positions in the Nigerian civil service. Therefore, the central research question is: Why are women noticeably underrepresented in managerial positions in the Nigerian Civil Service? This can be further broken down into:

How has gender inequality contributed to the underrepresentation of women in managerial position within Nigeria's civil service?

Do family responsibilities have an effect on the underrepresentation of women in managerial position in the civil service?

How can women be more represented in Managerial positions within the Nigeria Civil Service?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This study will examine the effect of gender inequalities on the underrepresentation of women in Nigeria's civil service, its objectives are as follows;

To examine how gender inequality has contributed to the underrepresentation of women in Nigerian civil service

To examine the effect of family responsibilities on the underrepresentation of women in Nigerian civil service

To examine the ways in which women can be further represented in managerial positions in Nigerian civil service

1.4 Significance of the Study

This study is about the underrepresentation of women in top managerial position within the Nigerian civil service. The rationale for the study is as a result of assumptions and practices within the Nigerian society that men are superior to women leading to inequalities in the society. The study will show how the role of patriarchy within the Nigerian working system has brought about women subordination, discrimination and gender inequalities.

The result of the study will help to formulate effective strategies that will address the underrepresentation of women in Nigerian civil service, additionally; it will contribute to existing literatures on the importance of women in management in Nigeria and Africa at large.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter is a review of related literatures on studies in the past surrounding the underrepresentation of women in top management positions. Past empirical studies have identified various barriers that hinder women from advancing in their careers within the Nigerian civil service. These barriers were discussed further in details in this section.

2.2 Gender Socialization; Historical Perspective of Nigerian Society

Society differentiates and predetermines human development in its entirety especially its members roles and responsibilities be it female or male, the execution of these roles are constructed socially via the socialization process (Onyeonoru, 2005).

Gender roles are distinct in Nigeria; the male child is given more priority in terms of education than the female child. When a female child is born into the society, her opportunities and possibilities are limited by societal cultures and norms notwithstanding the kind of attributes that is being displayed by the girl (Abiola, 2004; Nwezeh, 2009).

The male child in Nigeria is favoured by customs and traditions, which are culturally instilled in them since birth. They are groomed to take up positions of authority from their fathers while the female child is trained to be a home maker and submissive to men. In the past, educating the female child was considered a total waste as she would eventually be married and would be a "property" of her husband. To this effect the female child in Nigeria was not sent to school. With civilization and enlightenment in the nineteenth century, the female child is now reluctantly being sent to school. Even with this, male education was getting more priority than the female in most Nigerian families, although financial constraints did not help the plight to educate the female child. As a result of this, the opportunities for women to compete adequately with men did not exist in the Nigerian society, it was considered an aberration for women to contend with men for positions of authority and women who were qualified to be in managerial positions shy away from it so as not to incur societal wrath, they remained comfortable in lesser positions; apparently disadvantaged and without skills due to lack of education, they are left with less challenging work within the Nigerian society (White et al., 1992; Mathur-Helm, 2005; Olojede, 2009).

The pre-industrial economy in Africa was characterized by family economy, where husbands and fathers were served and were seen as the head and superior. During that time, work for women was mostly limited to their household chores, which also includes taking care of their husband, children, siblings and homes (Tilly and Scott, 1978, cited in Erickson, 1992). Those women who were considered rebellious wanted to work but they were limited by various factors. One of them was location, whether women lived in rural or urban areas determined the type of job they could get; other factors include their social class, age and marital status. Women from wealthy families usually did not work but managed their homes; on the other hand women from medium income families were required to contribute to the family income by assisting their husbands in the running of their farm or other businesses (Sharpe, 1998). Single women were involved in various trades at that time, some of them were found in male dominated trades such as blacksmithing but very few of them were seen in these trades. They were mostly found in female dominated trades such as buying and selling of goods or farm produce (Sharpe, 1998).

In the twentieth century, as Nigeria developed as a country, women were involved in a range of occupations outside their homes, many of which could be considered as managerial, although they were not regarded as managerial, rather as secretarial or administrative positions (Kiamba, 2008). They worked with their husbands or fathers in managing the family business but were regarded as subordinates; their managerial roles were concealed under their father or husband's work (Powell 1993). Managerial positions were ascribed to men because managers who occupy those positions were seen as strong, authoritative and assertive. For a woman to occupy a managerial position meant that the belief of men being in leadership roles has been dishonoured, especially if the role involves overseeing the duties of men (Fagenson, 1993). It is important to acknowledge that since the beginning of civilization, women around the world including Nigeria have suffered various forms of inhumane treatment, which includes but not limited to oppression, subjugation, violence and degradation (Abiola, 2004; Nwezeh, 2009).

Omotola (2007) and Mathur-helm, (2005), opined that women are regarded as the weaker sex and due to this they are usually oppressed, violated, discriminated against and alienated in different forms which include socio-cultural, religious and economic beliefs. Fadeke et al., (2010), argued further that these cultural beliefs women are faced with are a reflection of the society and it begins from childhood when girls are socialized in particular traditional roles and prohibited from involving themselves with certain roles that are attributed to males. This socialization process eventually results in prejudice and glass ceiling which affects women later in their life when building their careers and thus hinder them from such positions as managers, directors, executives and so on (Fadeke et al., 2010)

A research by Fadeke et al., (2010), proved that the advancement of women into managerial positions is slower than that of men which has been attributed to a "purgatory effect" which is a condition that has limited women from attaining managerial positions which is evident in Nigeria. Fadeke et al., (2010), argued that Nigeria's corporate world is dominated by men and women who want to ascend to top management positions have to break down the glass ceiling which in fact is difficult to break through. When they eventually break this mold and attain these managerial positions, they are discriminated against, marginalized and they are seen as just filling up the position not because they have the ability required for contributing positively when they attain such positions (Fadeke et al., 2010).

2.3 Barriers to Underrepresentation of Women in Managerial Positions

2.3.1 Glass Ceiling and Gender Discrimination

"The lack of women in the workplace in senior managerial positions is recognized as a problem, some of the great paradoxes of Africa's persisting development crisis are continuing under-engagement of millions of potentially transformational female talent in managerial roles, and the systematic relegation of their educational and capacity development needs based on misguided traditional values and gender based prejudice" (Ibeh and Debrah, 2011 cited in Wallace and Smith, 2011, pp. 10).

Management as it is known in present times has been established since the late nineteenth century when the hierarchy of authority in organizations began to develop; there was the need for specializations in these organizations (Galambos and Pratt, 1988; cited in Fagenson, 1993). Modern management, as well as specialization in its peculiar form began to exist in Africa.

In Nigeria, glass ceiling has been one of the hindrances to the advancement of women in their careers, the issue of glass ceiling has been a bone of contention since colonial times and the problem has refused to abate (Kiamba, 2008).

The barrier that hinders women from gaining entrances into the labour market or by preventing them from attaining management positions can be described as "glass ceiling"; it is invisible and difficult to penetrate through thereby preventing individuals from moving upward in their careers (Tlasiss and Kauser, 2010)

Nigerian women have had to overcome various aspects of glass ceiling, which usually are in forms of discrimination, which is clearly defined by article 1 of the United Nations convention on the eradication of discrimination against women (CEDAW) as

" any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on the basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field" (www.unifem.org/cedaw30/about_cedaw/).

The history of women in Nigeria's public administration shows immense diversity in the civil service. The increased presence and widespread of women in the civil service of Nigeria cannot be ignored. Yet, women in managerial positions are still uncommon within government institution in Nigeria. Although discrimination continues to exist as a limiting factor to women which prevents them from enjoying equal opportunities within the civil service (Robert, 2004)

Adeleke, (2003), continued that the inequality between men and women in Nigeria's civil service has created gap between them socially, culturally and politically within the society. Adeleke, (2003), argued further that women are being deprived of their rights as compared to men especially when it relates to their careers. Though it is said that men and women have equal opportunities in the civil service, the men are more dominant in the government institution than women. Forms of discrimination arises in situation such as unfair recruitment processes, promotion and remuneration policies.

From the studies of Robert (2004), it is evident through his analysis that men are more represented than women in the Nigeria's civil service; the data below clearly support these assertion:

Table A: Percentage of men and women in federal civil service.

Year Percentage of men Percentage of women

2001 71.5 28.5

2002 71.3 28.7

2003 69.3 30.7

2004 70.5 29.5

Source: WACOL, 2008 (cited in Fatile et al., 2011)

Oakley (2000) explains two rationales that are considered for the continuation of glass ceiling, which are socio-cultural issues and those related to organizational barriers. On the socio-cultural, several researches have explained the glass ceiling issues women are faced with at work. The studies explain traditional gender roles as one of the many reasons women face challenges at work. The society ascribes these roles to women, which can be classified as negative stereotypes to women, such as duties attributed to women, which expect them to care for the home and their family alone.

The effect of this on women is that they are not able to maintain a career; they shuttle between flexible working hours and work in poor pay jobs, in comparison with their male counterparts who are perceived to provide for the family and in so doing have access to robust financial incentives and salaries (Anker, 1997, cited in Okafor, et. al., 2011).

Hence, Krotz, (2006), argues that women tend to build their careers towards roles that the society accepts to be suitable for women and not what they desire or challenging jobs that they aspire to attain.

The Nigerian government took a notable action by including specific policies into the Nigerian constitution when they realized that it was challenging for women to gain entry into managerial position particularly in civil service organizations. This action revealed the government is in support of equality within the Nigerian society (Fadeke et al., 2010). The 1999 constitution of the Nigerian government in section 17 (1), states that;

"the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be based on the principles of freedom, equality and social Justice", Section 14(3), further states that " the State is enjoined to direct its policy towards ensuring that all citizens are not discriminated against on any grounds whatsoever, and should have the means of securing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate opportunities to secure suitable employment, in addition, discrimination on grounds of ethnic group, place of origin, sex and religion or political opinion is highly prohibited"

From the above section of the constitution, by law, it can be deduced that women have equal rights with men in the Nigerian society and equal opportunities at work to attain the heights of their careers; women have a right to equal positions like manager and director as men. The Nigerian government also in 2006 introduced the National gender policy to ensure that these laws are duly obeyed. The aim of the National Gender Policy includes "to achieve minimum threshold of representation for women in order to promote equal opportunity in all areas of political, social and economic life of the country for women, as well as men" (NGP: 20, cited in Fadeke et al., 2010). The Federal government before the 1999 constitution did not have laws in place in support of women's position in the society particularly in their careers to attain managerial positions but this passage of the law has brought about a new lease of life for career women (Taylor and Conradie, 1997, cited in Fadeke et al., 2010).

2.3.2 Nigerian Labour Market and Political System

The Nigerian Labour market is another element that shapes the careers of individual in the economy; careers are influenced by the size of the labour market, unemployment in the labour market, changing government and policies within the labour market. Research conducted by world fact book in 2010 shows that Nigeria has the largest labour market in West Africa with more than 47million workers. The economy is still experiencing scarcity of jobs as unemployment rose to 4.9 percent in 2007, a large percentage of the labour market consist of unskilled workers and can be grouped within the informal sector of the labour market. More specifically, Nigerian labour market consists of more men than women because it is a male dominated economy and to this effect, the gendering of the workplace is still prevalent. Although there are no written policies at the workplace that favours men, organizations are structured in a way that it favours men than women and any woman trying to venture into the workplace especially an occupation that is dominated by men is faced with a lot of challenges, this happens in reality (Mordi et al., 2010)

Employment Rates in Nigeria, within age group, 2008

Source ILO 2010, cited in Oyenjeli

From the figure above, it can be deduced that there is high level of inequality within Nigeria labour market. Men are more dominant in the labour force between the ages of 45-49 with a percentage of 99.2% compared to women. Women between ages 50-54 makeup the highest percentage among women (69.5%) in the labour market

The Nigerian political system also plays a role in the labour market because of changing governments and different labour policies introduced by the government into the labour market. Since independence, Nigeria has had to change power between the military and civilian government regimes, and a significant effect of this is that these policies introduced have not been sustained within the labour market because these policies are changed whenever there is a new government in power (Mordi et al., 2010)

2.3.3 Cultural Beliefs and Work-Life Balance

Several studies including that of Obi (2001), Adeleke, (2003) and Omotola (2007), have explored the challenges women are faced with while trying to attain managerial positions in an organization. Some of the challenges include cultural beliefs, unsupportive work environment, national restrictions, educational limitation and difficulty in balancing career and family. There is also the belief that women in top managerial positions are wayward. As a result of this belief women shy away from top ranking positions (Olojede, 2009).

George, Kuye and Onokala (2012), further argues that the global trend of about 1-5percent of women found in managerial position has also been revealed in Nigeria society; this is as a result of cultural beliefs and work life balance of women. In Nigeria, culturally women both at home and at work are not encouraged to take up positions of authority. George, Kuye and Onokala, (2012), Research in Cadbury Nigeria Plc reveals that male workers in the organization do not accept women managers as their superiors and this is not so for Cadbury Plc (UK), where the men are not particular about who manages them. He also observed that for women in the workplace to be promoted to managerial positions, they are usually harassed and intimidated by their superiors and those women who eventually attain these positions at work are seen to have attained the position on the basis of sex and not of merit. George, Kuye and Onokala, (2012), concluded that as culture remains an important part in the Nigeria society, it will be tough for women to get to management positions, cultural norms will continue to limit women in achieving top management positions eventually leading to more men representing at these positions.

The most important part for Nigerian women's life is the family, according to the society, women are responsible for taking care of the home and balancing both work. The family life creates challenges for women who want to have a successful career; it does not only affect the women but it causes potential problems for the families and organizations too (Fadeke et al., 2010). Men are more interested in a work role more than women; it is the women that experience more challenges trying to balance both their work life and family life because the society expects women to take care of their household and family (Burke and Collins, 2001).

Women still have to make decisions between their career and family in ways that men do not. Women will have to choose between pursuing a career, getting married, having to raise the children and reaching the top of her career as a manager within the organization. Working with her male counterparts who are not making these choices creates barriers for women aspiring to be managers (Kiamba, 2008). For a woman who is married, her choice of career path may be in contrast to that of her husband. This is because even when she is qualified for a top managerial position, she may relent because she may not have the time needed to devote to her work as her attention is needed fully at home. Some organizations in Nigeria as part of their policies do not transfer or promote married women to certain positions so as not to cause domestic crisis within their families. Women with families would not like a transfer to another country or state in the same organization, longer hours of work will not be desirable to her and these result in hindering her from getting to top management positions (Akanbi and Salami, 2011).

Over the past years, balancing work for women has been an issue of concern as it reinforces the "glass ceiling" phenomenon making it difficult for women to break through the barriers (Fadeke et al., 2010). Women prefer careers that give them the opportunity to be able to carry out their responsibilities within the family. As more women gain access into management positions in the public world, balancing both work and family life becomes a real challenge because they have to deal with conflicting demands of their careers, caring for their children and other personal issues such as marriage demands (Marcinkus, Whelean-Berry and Gordon, 2007).

2.3.4 Stereotypes

Women who are managers are faced with various challenges and strongly hold negative stereotypes at the work place which differentiates them from their male colleagues. Studies have shown that female managers are described to be less confident and having poorer leadership abilities as compared to men who are also in managerial positions (Owen and Todor, 1993). Some of the assumptions that have been acknowledged as stereotypes that hinder women are that women put their family demands first above their occupational duties. They lose their interest in their duties at work because they have children to take care of; they only work for extra income to be able to support the family. They are also classified as being emotional which makes them lose the necessary will to run an organization because when criticized, they tend to take it more personally than professionally when compared to men; these makes them unsuitable for top managerial positions (Okafor et al., 2011).

Studies conducted by both Broveman et al., (1972) and Heilman et al., (1989) cited in Oakley (2000), conforms the existence of stereotypes on both sexes. Both studies see female managers as basically lacking self-confidence, below average, non analytical, inconsistent, unstable emotionally and poor leadership abilities in comparison to their male counterparts. Both studies also agree managers frequently associate desirable managerial traits with men and the opposite with women. Male were considered to be aggressive, independent, lacking emotion, objective, active, dominant, logical, self-confident and skilled in business. Women were stereotypically seen has displaying the opposite trait of males on all the competence related traits, which indicates that female traits are linked with incompetence. It therefore does not come as a surprise, the lack of female managers as a result of their perceived stereotypes. Consequently, successful corporate executive managers without regards to gender will most likely by choice defer to the traits associated with male stereotypes.

The next chapter reviews the methodology employed in conducting the research.

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the research method that was employed to uncover the underlying issues that accounted for the underrepresentation of women in managerial position in the Nigeria civil service. According to Bryman and Bell (2011, pp.39), "A research method is simply a technique for collecting data, it can involve a specific instrument, such as a self-completion questionnaire or a structured interview schedule, or participant observation whereby the researcher listens to and watches others". Qualitative research method has its roots in social science; it is concerned about the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of people, it seeks to understand why people behave in certain ways (Mays and Pope, 2000). A qualitative methodology was employed using both primary and secondary data's in gathering information and analyzing the study.

3.2 Research Design

The research design that was administered for the study is an explorative and descriptive approach which was employed within survey research design to observe, explore and describe the social phenomena in the context of this research. The main method of data collection was semi-structured in-depth interview technique. This was used because it is an exploratory study to determine the issues and challenges facing women managers in Nigeria and because it shows a clear picture of respondent position on the subject matter. This was made possible because open ended questions were adopted where respondents were allowed to answer the questions according to how they felt and their thinking. The reason why the face to face interview was employed was because Nigeria is still a developing country and to this effect, other telecommunication methods like emails through computer based study or telephone interviews would not be effective because they are not efficient systems of communication in Nigeria and this can slow down the process of carrying out the study as there was limited time to complete the research. Secondary research that includes journal articles, working papers, books and past reports from the Nigerian civil service was also used.

3.3 Research Philosophy

The nature of this research study is qualitative. Qualitative research is defined as "a form of systematic empirical inquiry into meaning" (Shank, 2002, pp.5, cited in Ospina, 2004), meaning that researchers following basic rules make inquiry through the world of experience, by attempting to interpret social phenomena in terms of the meaning people give to it (Ospina, 2004). Interpretivism is the epistemological foundation for which the researched is based. Epistemological issues "are concerned with the question of what is or should be regarded as acceptable knowledge in discipline" (Bryman and Bell, 2011, pp. 15). Interpretivism according to Bryman and Bell, (2011, pp.17) "is predicated upon the view that a strategy is required that respects the differences between people and the objects of natural sciences and therefore requires the social scientist to grasp the subjective meaning of social action"

Ontological position of this study is constructionism which "asserts that social phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by social actors'' (Bryman and Bell, 2011, pp. 22). This means that social phenomena are brought about by social processes and interaction, and they remain in a constant state of revision. It helps the researcher to discover realities of the study from the standpoint of the respondents

3.4 Study Location

The study location was Nigerian Ports Authority; a civil service institution of the Nigerian Government that was established in 1954 as an operating port with the responsibility of providing all port services. Its headquarters is situated in Lagos, Nigeria. The Managing director oversees the operations of the Nigeria Ports Authority, and is assisted by three executive directors and whom General Managers and assistant managers in turn assist. The choice of this study location is because it is one of the civil service sectors that is widely acknowledged to be at the forefront of equal opportunity policies in Nigeria.

3.4.1 Organizational Chart of the Nigeria Ports Authority

SOURCE: Nigeria Ports Authority Library, (2012).

The organizational chart above shows the structure of the organization (Nigeria Ports Authority) and relative ranks and positions within the organization. The board of directors is the governing body and head of the organization and the officers which is at the lower part of the chart is the lowest position within the organization.

3.5 Sampling Design

One of the major decisions when conducting a study is to decide who, what and where to study, however, in choosing the respondents, the ethical considerations has to be kept in mind. The sample was constructed using a snowballing procedure. In carrying out the study, the researcher has to decide the institution and individuals that will be suitable for the study. The respondent consisted of employees of the Nigerian Ports Authority in Nigeria; which is a civil service institution in Nigeria. The willingness and availability to participate including the length of service, gender, age, and position were the criteria for selecting respondents. Respondents were chosen from major functional background including human resource management, secretariat services, general administration and financial management.

3.6 Sample Size and Population Size

A cross-section of women managers at different levels of management within the organization were interviewed for this study. Professional careers were different as they were chosen across the departments in the organization. A total of eight in-depth interviews were conducted among the respondents in the location of study.

3.7 Research Instruments

A semi-structure in-depth interview was used to collate data for the research. Questions were developed through the objectives of the study. Because semi- structured in-depth interview is aimed at understanding the respondent's point of view, rather than making generalizations particularly of a social nature, it was adopted for the study (Dicicco-Bloom and Crabtree, 2006). It allows respondents to delve into social and personal matters, when they were probed by the interviewer, generating detailed and useful information about the underrepresentation of women in the Nigerian Civil Service.

Secondary data was sourced from Journal papers, Nigerian National widely read Newspapers such as the guardian newspaper, and Nigerian Ports Authority library were used for to compliment the findings from the study.

3.8 In-Depth Interview Administration

All the interviews were carried out by the researcher. Each respondent was informed about the study and the purpose of the study, their consent was obtained verbally and by a consent letter which was sent to them earlier before the research. A guide through each session of the interview was used to administer in depth interview to the respondents; they were asked question with the interviewer critically probing for knowledgeable information on the subject of the study. The interviews were conducted on different days after a booked appointment by the interviewer. The process of the interview was carried out in English, as that is the official language of the Nigerian society, Some of the interview schedule lasted for 30 minutes while some others lasted for up to 45 minutes. I was able to have access into the organization as I had previously worked with the company and still maintained good relationship with some of the staff of the organization.

3.9 Data Analysis

The data from the interview was gathered through transcribing of the tape recordings from the in-depth interview. Qualitative data from the interview was analyzed using manual content analysis. Content analysis is a technique which allows researcher to discover and describe the focus of individual group or social attention in an interview (Stemler, 2001) Responses obtained from respondents were scrutinized and those responses that elaborated the objectives of the study were further discussed through thematic verbal quotation technique.

3.10 Ethical Consideration

Gender studies remain a sensitive issue, particularly in a region like Nigeria. Respondents were sent brief project description and consent to ask about their interest in participating in the research. They were guaranteed anonymity and confidentiality in reporting the results. Responses were used strictly for this study.

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

The previous chapters in this study have discussed the aims, review of relevant literature and the methodological approach to the collection of data and the analysis of the data. This chapter will discuss in full account the findings from the research in accordance with the stated aims. Firstly, the chapter will begin with the socio-demographic profile of the women that were interviewed for the study and continue with the findings from respondents.

4.2 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Although respondents belong to the same organization, there are specific socio-demographic characteristics that differentiate them from one another such as their age, marital status, length of service and their career fields which has contributed to the general findings of the study.

The common feature that can be found among the respondents is that they are all managers but at different levels of management. Respondents had similarities in educational qualification as all the women managers had a degree with exception of three respondents who furthered their education and had a postgraduate qualification. Respondent's socio-demographic characteristics revealed that three of the respondents are assistant general managers, two of them are principal managers and the remaining three are senior managers. The age distribution of the respondents show that five of them are fifty years and above while the remaining three are between forty-five and forty-nine years. These are indications that the respondents are quite advanced in their careers and would have had different experiences which have contributed to the findings of this study. It also reveals that women managers are most likely to be mothers with grown-up children. Six of the women are married, one of them is a widow and the other one is divorced. The number of years the respondent have been in the civil service range from ten to twenty-four years.

4.3 Effect of Gender Inequality on Women's Underrepresentation in Nigeria's Civil Service

Overall responses from the women suggested that the Nigerian ports authority as an arm of the civil service in Nigeria is not women oriented as regards managerial perspectives within the organization; it was deduced from the research as follows:

In my own opinion, men are the ones that dominate the position of power in this organization, since I have been working in this organization, the managing director which is the head of this organization has always been a man, I have never in my twenty five years of service seen a woman attain the position. Women just go as far as being assistant general manager, the present position I am occupying, no woman has been appointed to the position of the overall general manager. She continued by saying that: this means that organisation's cultural values and operational working system reflect the interest of men as they are more represented in the position of authority. I do not have a say and can't alter any decisions, I work strictly under the leadership of my boss (Field work, 2012)

All the women interviewed felt that the assumptions that gender inequality was deeply rooted in the Nigerian civil service was true which has led to a work environment where it is difficult for women to attain managerial positions. Women also were of the belief that as women started getting promoted into managerial positions, it gave rise to a segregated structure which has led to unequal opportunities for men and women; a comment from one of the respondents on this issue is as follows:

It should be acknowledged that the main structure of the Nigeria civil service is designated along the lines where men are considered to be general managers and women are suited for lesser clerical office duties. It is only of recent that women are promoted into managerial positions, and these positions are assistant managers, majority of male managers that head this organization are aware of this situation, but they act as if that's how its suppose to be, women have to always be subordinates… (Fieldwork, 2012)

Aguoru (2012), in an interview with Guardian Newspaper Nigeria said that "the present ideas on gender inequality and balance within the Nigerian civil service is popularly founded on base values that further corrodes the importance of women and their impact within government parastatals" (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com)

It is argued that discrimination and prejudice are viewed as inseparable words, which are defined in the same context. Majority of men still believe that women cannot make good managers, thereby creating a discriminating factor against women who are in managerial positions, when prejudice is involved, real acts of discrimination begin to come to play (Mathipa and Tsoka, 2000) When further probed about the gender issues within the civil service, the women agreed that there were gender discrimination within the organization; one of the women acknowledge this by saying that;

The overall picture is that some posts were designated for men only, such as the general manager, and assistant general manager…recently, the organization elected a new general manager which happens to be a man from another company, even though we have women within this organization that are capable of holding the post, in addition, all the newly elected executives managers are men, also from outside of this organization… (Fieldwork, 2012).

In this study it was discovered that women in the civil service were constrained by such stereotypes as sex appropriate roles in their careers, certain positions are viewed in sex type terms and these had made some of the women to direct their careers towards those occupations that a high proportion of women have recorded a success rate in; one of the respondent pointed out that;

I am happy in my position as the senior manager for the Human resource department, I have risen to this position because a number of women have been successful thereby becoming Assistant general managers, coupled with the fact that this is a department you find a lot of women, if I were to be in the engineering department, I would not have attained this position because it is a position that has been attributed to men…there are very few women in that department and their promotion is very slow because they are practically invisible as they have to compete with more men… (Fieldwork, 2012)

Another respondent added by saying;

I think culturally in Nigeria, we are taught that men are better at certain roles; in churches and mosques it is preached that men are the head...In Nigeria, we are not really prepared for female managers in our industries that is why you hardly see women in these position..just this position I am holding, I went through a lot of challenges, it is always a struggle for women to move up the ladder in their careers especially when it boils down to managerial positions, directors and any position that women have to be in authority…I have gone far in my career to even be a principal manager, am comfortable and not looking to move further except I am offered higher positions without being stressed, although I understand that there is no position of authority without its challenges… (Fieldwork, 2012)

Mordi et al., (2010, pp. 16) opined that women tend to direct their career goals towards occupations that were in line with social perception of female roles. Kiamba, (2008) argued that women aspire towards those roles that are realistic, in which their advancement and promotion can be achieved.

4.4 Effect of Work Life Balance and Family Responsibilities on the Underrepresentation of Women in Managerial Positions

The family commitments of women remain one of the major barriers that hinder them in advancing in their careers in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Women continually have to endure the pains of self denial and sacrifice to be able to meet up with their family roles and duties (Morley et al., 2005). The second objective of this study which is to determine whether family responsibilities hinders women from attaining managerial position was examined when the respondents were asked whether performing multiple roles as a family woman was a barrier for them in their careers; the respondents had this to say;

My experience as a Junior officer after I married was very challenging for me…For instance I was registered for a course in Ghana, meaning I had to leave my husband and my child to be away in Ghana for six months, at that point, I had to choose my family over my career because even if my Husband had allowed me to go for the course, his family members would not be supportive, which can lead to family issues….this is because in Nigeria here, you are equally married to the members of your husband's family and they have a say in your affairs… had to decline and forfeit any promotion that was attached to the course for a future date and to save me from marital issues… (Fieldwork, 2012)

Nwagbara and Akanji (2012), in their study reveal that women in the Nigerian society are aiming to reach the heights of their careers, although this has been challenging for them as a result of their families responsibilities. A good number of women have issues shuttling their roles as managers at work, mothers and wives at home respectively. The challenge of maintaining work duties and family roles affects women in meeting up with their commitment (Nwagbara and Akanji, 2012)

The consequences for neglecting family duties can be very grave in a society like Nigeria, where men are regarded as the head of the family and their decision is final within the family. One of the respondents spoke about her experience;

I have been working in this organization for over fifteen years, with my duties requiring me to travel within and outside the country. My divorce from my husband was brought about because of my busy schedule at work, because at some point in each year, I have to travel with my boss to Abuja the capital city, to defend the budget for the year, this meeting takes two to three weeks, because we have to meet with a committee from the house of assembly, meaning I have to be away from my family…the major reason that lead to my divorce from my husband was because he had an affair and complained that I did not have time for him… he has since remarried and I have been single, concentrating all my energy on my career. It is difficult for women in this part of the world to manage duties at home and at work… (Fieldwork, 2012)

Aside from pressure from the family, women in managerial positions in Nigeria suffer emotional pain through marital breakups, derision, isolation and low self esteem within their family and the society at large. The task of combining family demands and managerial duties is challenging and stands as a barrier to women's advancement in their careers (Deerby, 2008). The female child in Nigeria is culturally trained to be homely with the responsibility of caring for the family while the male child is trained to work and make provisions for the family. Nigeria is governed by patriarchal systems, where the interests of men are place above that of women. It is important to know that as a result of harsh economic circumstances, there has been a slight change in the societal perception of women attaining managerial positions. However, work-life balance has become a source of concern for women who are managers (Mordi et al., 2010)

The multiple roles performed by career women in the Nigeria society today, can be straining which can result into work-family conflict. Tlasis and Kauser, (2010), in their study, explained work-family conflict, revelling that it affects equally incompatible difficulties between responsibilities.

4.5 Possible Ways of Improving Women's Representation in the Civil Service

At the end of the interview, respondents were asked the ways they feel women would be better represented in the civil service; one of the respondents had this to say;

Nigeria society is embedded in cultures and traditions that has led to set back for women and development in the nations, changing these beliefs would not be easy, we can start from the organizations as a unit of the entire society; the ultimate goal of improving representation of women as mangers can be achieved by redefining the culture and values in civil service organizations of Nigeria. It is important for organizations to pay more attention to issues of gender inequality dominating the work place. More policies on gender inequality should be introduced which should focus on equal opportunities for empowerment and self- actualization of every individual in their careers irrespective of their gender. These policies should be strictly observed that there would be development in Nigeria in a sustainable way… (Fieldwork, 2012)

A second respondent gave her on opinion as follows;

There should be opportunity for continuous learning for both men and women in the workplace, access to new skills development should be available to all. Women especially should not be attributed to certain roles, promotions for managerial positions should be opened to all and women should be encouraged and supported by the board of directors to attain these positions (Fieldwork, 2012)

4.6 Discussions from the Findings

In recent times, efforts have been put together globally to eliminate discrimination, but for such countries that are undergoing development, a lot of perception and cultural beliefs need to be changed (Bartram, 2005). Women's representation in key managerial position has remained low, despite the fact that women entering the labour market have increased over the years (Omar and Davidson, 2001). Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how gender inequality has contributed to the underrepresentation of women in Nigeria civil service, examine effect of family responsibilities on women's career and determine the ways to improve the representation of women in the Nigeria civil service.

Findings from the study confirms that gender inequality exist in the organization which further creates such barriers as glass ceiling, discrimination and stereotypes. A conclusion that was drawn from the study is that, few women within the civil service have attained managerial positions and no woman has been elected to head the organization as managing director. This findings agree with Tlasis and Kauser (2010) in their research it was concluded that women are faced with glass ceiling issues that stand as a stumbling block to their career aspirations; they concluded in their findings that gender beliefs have shaped women's behaviour, attitudes and traits, which has resulted in low self-confidence, thereby, preventing women from advancing in their careers.

The second objective of the study was to examine the effect of family responsibilities on women managers. From the study it has been demonstrated that women have some difficulty in balancing work and family responsibilities, although, they occupy managerial positions, they have in their careers over the past years, been able to develop skills and abilities that help them to balance their careers. However, respondents agreed that balancing careers and family duties is a factor that hinders the career progress of women in Nigeria, as Nigerian women owe their primary responsibility to caring for their husband, children and their homes. Findings also show that when family responsibilities are neglected for career duties, it can result to grave consequences as one of the respondents from the study had a broken home which was brought about as a result of commitment to her duties at work.

The result from the study was impressive as respondents agreed that gender equality policies should be developed within the civil service to support women. This will improve the representation of women managers. This is in support of Thompson, (2010) research, who indicated that the origin of inequality have be proven to be deep and difficult to eliminate globally across countries of the world, achieving equal rights is huge and enormous efforts is needed, when equality is achieved, women would attain top managerial positions. Policies that will help women in balancing work and family duties should be put in place such as flexible working hours for women. Additionally, Women would want continuous developments programs which would help them in developing their potentials and broaden their professional horizon. These are considered ways to improve their representation in top managerial positions within the Nigeria civil service.

Chapter 5: Summary of Findings, Recommendation and Conclusion

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarizes the findings based on the result from the study that was carried out. Specific recommendations relating to the study were suggested, which is hoped will help improve the representation of women in managerial positions within Nigeria's civil service. Finally, conclusion was drawn from the overall outline of the research.

5.2 Summary of Findings

General findings from the study revealed that;

Female managers within the Nigerian civil service are discriminated against and they experience glass ceiling.

Gender inequality in the civil service contributes to the factors that hinder women from progressing in their careers.

Stereotypes which are attributed to particular occupations hinder women from progressing further in the Nigerian civil service.

Family responsibilities in forms of motherhood and wife roles create challenges to women in the civil service when both roles cannot be balanced.

Female managers who are career driven sometimes experience marital problems as a result of commitment to their work duties.

Organizational Policies on gender equality which are duly adhered to will see the representation of more women in the civil service.

5.3 Recommendation

Based on the findings from the study, the recommendations below are suggested in order to improve the representation of women in Nigeria's Civil Service;

Nigerian civil service organizations should organize management training for women aspiring to be managers.

Women should be opened to more meaningful tasks and should be placed in positions according to merit and should not be determined by sex appropriate jobs.

Regular review of promotion criteria. Those with unfavourable policies to women should be eliminated; review should be done in a gender sensitive manner.

Disciplinary action should be taken against such cases as discrimination, stereotypes, favoritism and harassment by a committee set up by the board of directors.

Organizational culture should be redefined, acknowledging the opinions and contribution of women in the organization.

6. Nigerian civil service organizations can create children's day care for women who have younger kids as a way to create time for them towards their jobs; it will be helpful for them to also introduce flexible working hours for women.

5.4 Limitation of the Study and Area of Future Research

The study was concerned only with women's underrepresentation in managerial positions in Nigeria's civil service organization and the study was limited in that research was only conducted in one of the organizations considering the fact that a range of civil service organizations existed which made the scope of the study limited to the organization. The time and cost of conducting more interviews across various Civil Service organizations in Nigeria was a regrettable limitation to the study.

Although, the findings of this research provides useful information on women in management in Nigeria civil service, a lot of questions still remain unanswered. For instance why are certain professions attributed to men and lesser jobs attributed to women? This and many other questions need to be answered in future research. This research also provides information on women managers in the Nigeria civil service only. Future research would uncover wider areas that would uncover the opinions of men and different organizations within Nigeria.

5.5 Conclusion

This research on the underrepresentation of women managers has been able to discover an important relationship between glass ceiling and career advancement of women. Findings reveal that women managers are hindered by family issues, discrimination, stereotypes, gender inequality and organizational factors.

The research argues that the socio-cultural belief in Nigerian society has created barriers that underpin women from advancing in their careers. The organizational environment in which men and women pursue their careers is gender based thereby disempowering women from advancing further in their occupational fields. This has its roots in the pre-colonial times where the male and female children were socialized in the society by their gender regardless of the attributes they possess. Apart from this, importance of family roles and commitment to women creates a barrier to them. Many of the women sacrifice their career ambitions for the sake of their family.

The need to address the issues women are facing by the government is of importance. Empowerment programs and trainings should be established for women to change their orientation about been the lesser gender in the society. Gender programs should be organized for men in other to change their negative attitudes and beliefs to the opposite sex. They should be educated on equality and should have an understanding of how discrimination and any form of inequality, when eliminated, leads to development within a nation.

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