ANALYSIS OF GENDER DIFFERENTIALS IN CAREER ADVANCEMENT OF STAFF IN AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA

ABSTRACT

This study analysed gender differentials in career advancement of staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The objectives were to examine the nature ofgender differentials in career advancement of staff in ABU, Zaria, factors that influencesgender differentials in career advancement of staff, effects of the factors and possible ways to enhance gender equity in career advancement of staff in ABU, Zaria. Relevant literatures were reviewed in line with the study objectives and the role congruity theory of prejudice was adopted to explain the phenomenon studied. The study was conducted in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and both the primary and secondary sources of data were used for the study. Also, simple random sampling, stratified and purposive sampling techniques were adopted to select the sample for the study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the process of data collection i.e. questionnaire and in-depth interview. A total of 317 respondents were drawn across five (5) selected faculties in ABU namely; faculty of Agriculture, Arts, Law, Sciences and Medicine.The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20) from which simple descriptive statistics, cross tabulation and regression analysis wereused. Based on the research conducted, the study found thatthere are more men than women with higher educational qualification. Women‟smonthly income was found to be substantially lower than the men and there were fewer women in the senior academic cadre and more in the non-teaching profession.Overwhelming majority of all the postsi.e. Head of department, Dean, Assistant Dean, Faculty officer, PG Coordinator, Exam Officer etc. in the various departments and faculties were occupied by men. Both men and women were discovered to be treated equally in the area of promotion, opportunity to further education and sponsorship and work leave but women were found to be treated less favourably in the area of recruitment and appointment into managerial positions. The study discovered that factors such as sexual discrimination, family and work conflict, bias in selection and appointment to managerial position, cultural and religious factors have more direct impact on career advancement of staff and factors such as limited optimal movement and representation up the organisational hierarchy, persistent low income and limited opportunities to present ones ideas, decision and initiatives have more direct effects on the affected staff. However, female staff were found to be most affected. It is therefore recommended that equal opportunities should be given to staff during recruitment and appointment to managerial positions irrespective of their sex by setting up a gender diversity action plan and a body to coordinate and monitor the implementation. The university management should set up conscious, deliberate and definite policy of affirmative action and quota system to address the subtle unintentional forms of discriminations and exclusion of women on the job and there should be advocacy by government and Non-Governmental Organizations in sensitizing the people to understand that both men and women are partners in the developmental process and this can be achieved by integrating all the educational levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) on the need to promote gender equity.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Gender, as a socio-cultural rather than biological construction, refers to socially constructed roles and learned behaviours and expectations associated with males and females, it is widely seen to affect the home, education and work spheres. In most societies, there are gender differences between women and men in decision making opportunities, responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken and access to and control over resources.Therefore, gender differentials arises when the relationship between women and men, their roles, privileges, status and positions are identified and analysed, it arises where inequalities are shown to exist between people purely on the bases of their being female or male. Within the workforce, there exist gender gaps between men and women in employment, promotion, selection for appointment among others and women are battling to become equal with men. As a result, women have made enormous advances in education and career but equality in the workplace still eludes them.

Today, it is common therefore to find women and men all over the world in different professions and at different levels competing with each other. Despite the remarkable increase in the existence of women and men in various occupations and the tertiary institutions in particular, the entry of women into workforce environs and higher managerial positions remains low to men. For instance, throughout the European Union-27, women are thus relatively more present at the lower levels of the academic career, the share of female grade A staff among female academic staff varies between 28% and 2%, with the highest proportions being recorded in Romania, France, Slovenia and Italy, the lowest shares were reported in Lithuania, Cyprus, Germany, Spain and Portugal (European Union, 2008). In the UK, in 2009/10, women were 44% of all academics and non-academics. A higher proportion of staff in professorial roles was male (80.9%) and female (19.1%). Men comprised 55.7% of academic staff in non-manager roles and 72.0% of academic staff in senior management roles (Blandford, et al., 2011). According to Singh (2008), in 70% of the Commonwealth‟s 54 countries, all universities were led by men. Davies (1996) observed that women enter adjunct roles but do not attain the most senior organisational positions. Egunjobi (2009) asserted that within the Commonwealth nations, the percentage of women employed as full time academic and non-academic staff ranges from the highest of 50% in Jamaica to the least of 9.5% in Ghana, with a Commonwealth average of 24%. The smallest percentages were found in Ghana 9.5%, Nigeria 13.6%, Tanzania 11.0%, Zambia 10.9% and Zimbabwe 9.8% all in Africa. Nigeria like other countries in Africa has in the last National Population Census (2006) almost equal number of males and females that make up the total population. For instance, females were 68.3 million, which is about 48.78 percent and males constituted 71.7 million, which is 51.22 percent of the total population of about 140 million. The Nigeria‟s National Gender Policy (NGP, 2007) reported that gender inequality within the overall society and across all sectors reflects the wide disparities between women and men. For example, 76% of the Federal Civil Service workers are men, while women make up 24% and occupy less than 14% of the overall management positions. Within the Nigeria‟stertiary institutions,Duyilemi (2007) found out that in Nigeria, most female staffs in the tertiary institutions are in junior cadres of administration of female/male ratio of 11.6% to 88.4%. Adegun (2012) also found out in his study that academic opportunity was more masculine than feminine in the tertiary institutions in Ekiti State with the College of Education employing the highest number of females with 27.0%, followed by the University with 18.3% and the Polytechnic with 12.8%. He concluded that the percentage of women in the upper echelon in the institutions studied in Ekiti State was very low and representation of women at the academic management position was also low. Information from the Registry Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (2016) indicates that out of a total of 10,229 academic and non-teaching staffs in the university, only 1,840 representing 18% are females, and 8,389 representing 82% are males. The professorial staff comprised of 374(90.3%) male and 40(9.7%) females, 333(86.3%) are male senior lecturers and 53(13.7%) are females. Also, 3,313(91.7%) are senior male non-teaching staff while females constitute 262(8.3%) of non-teaching senior staff. The composition of the university‟s principal officers shows that all (9) are males, and the university governing council members comprised of 17 males and only 1 female member. A World Bank report on Nigerian universities reveals that women form a minority of university teachers and administrators and female academic Staff stagnates at a level of about 14 percent (Adesinaola, 2012). From the above presentation, issues‟ bordering on gender in workplace career advancement needs attention as women has remained disadvantaged in all areas of employment, career development, promotion or securing higher position in employment. Career is often linked to ideas of progression up an organizational hierarchy. While many people continue to pursue this kind of organizational career, many others either succeed or face obstacles to advance. According to Ali & Ahmed (2009), career includes sense of purpose and direction. It also includes ideas of progression and development both at work and at a personal level. In this way, career advancement was defined by focusing on the more visible aspects of an individual‟s career circumstances, such as profession, work role, salary, type of work, career progression, and status or prestige associated with a position or level on a hierarchy. It is being measured in terms of society‟s evaluation of achievement with reference to extrinsic measures such as salary, managerial level and number of promotions (Malamed, 1996). As such, the need to promote gender equity in the workplace becomes paramount. However, the subject of gender equality and inequality has become a global concern at the heart of developed and developing countries. This is clearly indicated by the United Nations Decade (1975-1985), which culminated in the Nairobi Conference of 1985 and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. In recognition of the persistent gender inequalities in the world, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 18 December 1979. Member states, among others, agreed to take all appropriate measures to eliminate inequality and discrimination against women in all fields of endearvour to ensure the same rights, based on equality of men and women. In achieving the set objectives of gender equality, the Nigerian constitution (1963), reviewed (1999), upholds equal position and opportunities for men and women. By this, women acquire the same training alongside the opposite sex (male) thus acquiring the same experience which is the bed-rock of leadership qualities. Despite the fact that section 17 (1) (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria say: “That every citizen shall have the equality of right, obligations, and opportunity before the law; section 42 of the same constitution also says that no Nigerian citizen shall be discriminated against because of a particular sex, religion or ethnic group”. The same constitution also guarantees the right to private and family life. Despite the pronounced commitment of Nigeria and the international community to gender equality, women are highly marginalized and are poorly represented in all spheres. While women are subject to inequalities in law and in fact, the situation is both caused and exacerbated by the existence of discrimination in the family, in the community and in the workplace. It is perpetuated by the survival of stereotypes and of traditional, cultural and religious practices and beliefs detrimental to women.Armstrong (2000)argues that men and women face many challenges as they advance through careers. However, women have reported greater barriers than men and greater difficulties in getting development assignment and opportunities.Olojede (2004) lamented that Nigeria is a highly patriarchal society, where men dominate all spheres of women‟s lives. As in other male-dominated societies, the social relations and activities of Nigerian women and men are governed by patriarchal systems of socialization and cultural practices which favour the interests of men above those of women. The access of women to employment and leadership positions is constrained by gender roles of men and women as a result, women in tertiary institutions in Nigeria face challenges of career advancement in the face of hiring, promotion, access to leadership position, sexual harassment, marginalization, exclusion and multitasking. The effect has been persistent low income of women, career stagnation, lack of job mobility, limit women access to formal resource control and benefit, limit optimal representation of women up the organizational hierarchy etc. Hence they are considered in the world as the most vulnerable to socio-economic depression. All these have culminated into huge gender gaps in literacy/education, work and access to power. While a number of efforts have been underway to rectify gender inequality, much still remains to be done across all educational sectors. This is because, the widespread „unequal‟ power relations between men and women has continued to generate discussions and has turned out to be a crucial scholarly debate in developmental and academic discourses.It is against this background, this study examined gender differentials in career advancement in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

Gender differential in career advancement is one of the areas where women are grossly disadvantaged and have to put up with an unfriendly environment. Kram&McCollon (2003) asserted that in most organisations, women can sometimes find that they are the organisational “other” and must manage their otherness in order to succeed. Managing identity, discrimination and other people‟s negativity can be an additional affective workload which deters women career progression. While the foregoing was generally true of the gender situation within ABU, there were no actual studies that scientifically documented it. For instance, the University did not routinely disaggregate data by sex. Thus, neither the Registry nor other units could readily provide information on male: female statistics as it related to staff performances, however, when available, the information is either outdated, not updated and or incomplete. Since disaggregated data was not routinely available, there was no question as to its being used to make decisions and to monitor policy and practice outcomes. Indeed, the University did not have a clear Gender Policy nor are gender issues reflected in the University policies such as employment nor were there gender equality or gender equity initiatives funded through the University in the past. According to Nelson &Burke (2001), gender inequality affect women and women in tertiary institutions tend to experience chronic stressors, such as domestic and professional making them rare in upper levels of academia and administration. For instance in ABU, Zaria, of the 10,229 staff, men constitutes 82% with 8,389 while women make up only 18% with 1,840 as staff. Also, while there are 374(90.3%) of male professors, only 40(9.7%) are women, 333(86.3%) of the senior academic staff are male and 53(13.7%) are women and 3,313(91.7%) are male senior non-teaching staff while females constitutes only 262(8.3%). According to the study, women are disadvantaged in recruitment, selection, and promotion efforts. Women in male-dominated departments as may be found in many departments in ABU, Zaria, may receive fewer professional developmental opportunities (e.g., mentoring and networking) and may face a negative bias in evaluations by both students and colleagues which can impede their career advancement.It is a truism that men find it difficult to accept female managers as equals. This has led to other problems such as lack of training, lack of performance appraisal, lower salaries and lack of promotion for women. Lack of women in senior positions means that women are under-represented across all decision-making fora, including committees, boards, recruitment panels and the executive. This means that the expertise and skills of a significant part of the workforce are being under-utilised. Knowing well that increasing numbers of women have gained access to higher institutions and the college teaching profession worldwide, women continue to be underrepresented in work place leadership positions. Women who have aspirations for top leadership positions still encounter numerous internal (marginalization, distancing, stereotypes etc) and external (family and reproductive responsibilities) challenges. This is because in society, there is a belief that a good mother must give less effort and priority to work demands, she is therefore seen as less committed worker. This biased belief creates barriers to women advancement in the workplace. These barriers make women lack opportunities to present their ideas, therefore reducing their influence over group decisions (Ridgeway, 2001). As a result, women have been excluded from the networks and work experiences that would provide them access to advancement opportunities. In the African context, traditional beliefs and cultural attitudes regarding the role and status of women in society are still prevalent and many women are part of this system finding it difficult to dislocate from the cultural tradition lest they be ostracized. When women formally started entering the workforce, little attention was given to the potential of women in management and leadership. While women are supported by the Employment Equity Act and social drives to increase their participation in workforce, however, due to socio-cultural stereotypes, women‟s abilities to be leaders and managers are being undermined. Despite women‟s education and entry into the job market, the woman‟s role is typically that of homemaker. Women were expected to perform duties as wife and mother, in addition to fulfilling their professional responsibilities. According to Sadie (2005), cultural attitudes are hostile to women involvement in decision making positions. However, some women are able to transcend and rise to high ranks and positions of leadership but more often than not, it means having to jungle cultural expectations with their leadership roles. What this means is that, having a career poses challenges for women. Despite the perceived fairness of the employment policies and its enforcement in Nigeria, restless efforts by feminists, government at both local and international scene promulgating policies of gender equity and equality, gender mainstreaming, quota system and affirmative actions to ensure fair treatment of male and female in all sphere of endeavour, women have continued to face irreversible discrimination in work place particularly in tertiary institutions as a result of the inability of the employment policies to recognize the female reproductive traits, their normative roles and professional commitment to achieve a balance. These policy failures range from policies that seeks to eliminate gender discrimination in areas such as recruitment, hiring, and promotion, policies to secure the health, safety, and well-being of female workers and policies that enable work-life balance and support educational, career, and vocational development of female workers. These policy failures have affected women to a greater extent. While these laws and policies are not lacking, they have suffered poor implementation. As a result, women continue to suffer relegation in advancing their career in the tertiary institutions.

1.3 Research Questions

The study attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics of gender differentials in career advancement of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria?
2. What are the factors influencing gender differentials in career advancement of Staff in the study area?
3. What are the effects of the factors influencing gender differentials in career advancement on Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria?
4. What are the possible strategies towards enhancing gender equity in career advancement of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria?

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the  studyis to  analysegender differentials  in career advancement  of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. However, the specific objectives of the study include

1. To identify and characterisegender differentials in career advancement of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
2. To ascertain the factors influencinggender differentials in career advancement of Staff in the study area.
3. To determine the effects of the factors influencing gender differentials incareer advancement on Staff in AhmaduBello University, Zaria.
4. To proffer possible strategies towards enhancing gender equity in career advancement of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

1.5 Significance of the Study

It should be stated that within the economic and political sphere, women participation has heightened and is gaining prominence. Educationally, women enrolment as both Students and Staff (academics and non-teaching) of tertiary institutions is gaining momentum. In view of this fast spreading notion of gender diversity in the composition of work force and its strategic value as a competitive advantage for the organizations, this study becomes relevance because it analysedthe gender differentials in career advancement of Staff in ABU, Zaria. The research workis expected to serve as an analytical framework for Nigeria‟s policy-makers and policy implementation most especially government institutions such as the judiciary, law makers and others Nigeria law enforcement agency in stemming the tide of inequality in work endearvours. As such, the research will help decision makers and policy analysts on policy formulations as well as contribute to legislative decision.It will equally be useful to the management of higher institutions of learning in promoting policies that will always ensure that everyone be allowed to participate and contribute on equal basis to the development and growths of the higher institutions of learning in Nigeria without being discriminated against on the basis of gender and above all, address the gender base inequalities in educational management.

Third, the study is also relevant in that, it further brought to fore the basis or justification of women agitations for women rights, women empowerment and the need to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women.

On the academic front, it contributed meaningfully to the growing literature on gender studies, women empowerment and women‟s rights. The researcher through this study contributed to existing knowledge in the area.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study analysedthe gender differentials in career advancement of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. It examinedthe nature ofgender differentials in career advancement in tertiary institutions, the factors that influencedgender differentials in career advancement, theeffects and possible measures of enhancing gender equity in tertiary institutions. However, the study could notcover the entire tertiary institutions in Nigeria, but was limited to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

1.7 Unit of Analysis

Since this study concern gender differential in career advancement of Staff in Ahmadu Bello University, the units of analysis of this study constituted the working men and women (Academic and Non-teachingStaff) in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.1.8 Hypothesis

H0₁: There is no significant difference between Factors influencing Career Advancement and Gender Differentials

H0₂:There is no significant difference between Male and Female in their Choice of Career

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