SOCIO-CULTURAL BARRIERS TO CAREER ADVANCEMENT OF FEMALE ACADEMIC STAFF IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

Female in higher position of management is limited in relation to the number of able female labour force in Nigeria. It was further learnt that even the Nigerian education institutions is in dear needs of making female academic staff to higher ranks to bridge the protracted gender gap and male dominance in the country’s higher institutions. In the quest to address this challenge, this study adopted qualitative method and interviewed six women that are occupying higher ranks in the Nigerian universities. Data collected for the study was thematically analyzed with NVIVO 10 software. The study found that socio-cultural factors such as patriarchy, domestic chores, role stereotypes, early marriage and gender discrimination serve as barriers of career advancement of female staff in Nigeria universities. It is recommended that Nigerian policy makers should introduce social reorientation programmes that would improve female capability and career advancement in the universities.