Out of Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, only about 46.4 million are actively employed, a report by Jobberman Nigeria in collaboration with MasterCard Foundation and Young Africa Works has shown.
The report with the title, ‘Unmasking the Barriers to Women’s Participation in Nigeria’s Labour Market’, also showed that despite Nigeria’s large and diverse pool of labour, only 51 per cent of Nigeria’s full human capital potential was fully captured, with women mostly at the receiving end.
The event tagged, ‘Gender Roundtable 2022 Beyond the Bias: Unmasking the barriers’, which was held in Lagos, was in collaboration with the Women in Management, Business and Public Service.
According to the report, as of the fourth quarter of 2020, female unemployment rate stood at 35.2 per cent compared to 31.5 per cent for men.
“This implies that seven in every 10 economically active women are unemployed,” the report stated.
According to the International Labour Organisation, women are grappling with the negative impact of these realities and the implications have a far-reaching effect on the outlook of both the formal and informal sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
The research took a survey of three states – Kaduna, Kano and Lagos.
In Kaduna, for instance, “with a working population of over five million, only about 47 per cent are in the labour force, the minority of which are women.
“Agriculture contributes over 35 per cent of Kaduna State’s GDP worth $8.7bn.”
However, the report showed that Kaduna had one of the highest underemployment rates in the country – standing at 44 per cent and 22.65 per cent respectfully.
Speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, encouraged young girls not to settle for less but to aspire to be the best version of themselves.
She also urged parents to not train girls to only aspire to marriage, but to be able to be independent of the opposite gender.
