Gender Inequality and Economic Growth in the Nigerian Civil Service

Abstract

Gender inequality is generally perceived as a deterrent to economic growth and as a result much of effort by the United Nations, World Bank, NGOs, Nigerian government and governments around the world have been enunciated to cauterise it. While several policies have been put in place to promote gender equality in Nigeria, progress in this area is rather slow. The need to achieve gender equality is crucial. Therefore, the paper empirically examines the influence of gender inequality and female labour force participation in the civil service on the economic growth of Nigeria. The data cut across 35 states in Nigeria from 2008 to 2016. The model is estimated using a panel data Fixed Effect estimation. The findings suggested that the economic cost of an increase in men’s employment at the expense of women’s employment may have a negative impact on economic growth. Thus, the pursuit of equi-gender representation is an important measure towards, women empowerment, reducing their dependency, elevating their socio-economic status, and achieving economic growth.