SPECIAL REPORT: Women thriving in non-traditional roles still face entrenched gender stereotypes

At 11 a.m. on a Monday in November, Oluwatosin Ajayi carefully steered her SUV through the familiar workshop gate, the morning sun casting a warm glow over the bustling Abule-Egba—Abeokuta expressway in Lagos.

The yard hummed with activities – the revving of engines, the clanging of tools, murmured conversations, and the unmistakable scent of engine oil. But Mrs Ajayi, a 25-year-old mother, was not there to repair her car.

Instead, vehicles in various states of disrepair were waiting to be fixed by Mrs Ajayi and her colleagues. Among them, a battered white ‘Korope’ (mini-bus) stood out, parked near an unfinished building like a wreck.

Nearby, an experienced mechanic, Sunday Osundara, popularly called ‘Oga Sunday’, worked intently on a motor gear, his hands slick with oil.

By the side of the uncompleted building, tools lay in two metal casings, periodically opened by an apprentice at Oga Sunday’s beck and call. Mrs Ajayi’s presence in this space – one overwhelmingly male-dominated—was anything but typical.

As her SUV came to a halt, her soon-to-be four-month-old infant, snugly strapped into her car seat, let out a contagious giggle. Her tiny hands waved in excitement as she gazed up with her big, round eyes.

Mrs Ajayi wasted no time – she quickly devoured her breakfast while the nanny tended to her meal, then breastfed her baby before changing into a grease-free overall inside her car.

As she alighted from the car, an apprentice hurried over with a delivery – her latest set of content-creation tools, including a phone stand. With nearly 100,000 Instagram followers, Mrs Ajayi uses these tools to amplify her activities as a woman in the male-dominated field and share tips for road users.

“There is no way a lady will know this job,” remarked one of her senior male colleagues, interjecting into our conversation. “There will still be some knowledge gap because she is a female.”

Gender Bias in the Workforce

The 2023 Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) suggests that biases like these significantly hinder women’s economic empowerment, making it harder for them to rise as thought leaders in their fields.

Despite progress, entrenched gender stereotypes persist and Mrs Ajayi is not excluded from their impact. According to the 2023 Nigerian Labour Force Survey, more Nigerian women are reaching working age and expressing interest in joining the workforce. However, the National Bureau of Statistics found that even though more women are now eligible to work, job opportunities remain scarce.

Biased gender social norms mean the “undervaluation of women’s capabilities and rights in society. They constrain women’s choices and opportunities by regulating behaviour and setting the boundaries of what women are expected to do and be.”

These norms continue to shape expectations, undervaluing women’s capabilities and constraining their choices. The GSNI 2023 report found that nearly 90 per cent of men and women worldwide hold unconscious biases against women. These prejudices cut across regions, income levels, and cultures, reinforcing global disparities.

The GSNI research further shows that there is no longer a direct correlation between women’s education and their economic success.

“Today, average income gaps between women and men are correlated more strongly with measures of gender social norms than with gaps in education,” the report reads.

“In countries with higher bias in gender social norms, women spend more time than men—as much as six times—on domestic chores and care work.”

Meanwhile, Oga Sunday, who has had about 40 years of experience on the job, insisted that people perceive his profession as a “dirty job,” but anyone, regardless of their gender, can be successful at it. He said he has only met about two or three female colleagues since he started the profession.

A mechanic breaking barriers

Mrs Ajayi’s journey into the automotive world started young. As a child, she loved dismantling household gadgets, from extension boxes to small generators. At secondary school, she made a bold move – she informed her parents she wanted to learn car repairs. They were stunned.

“It wasn’t easy convincing them,” she recalled. “They couldn’t imagine their daughter apprenticing at a mechanic workshop.”

After weeks of persuasion, they finally agreed. Mrs Ajayi balanced her high school studies with hands-on training at a local auto workshop in Lagos. Even after gaining admission to study mechanical engineering at Ekiti State University (EKSU), she continued her training, spending a total of seven years learning the trade.

“Women aren’t as good…as men?”

Several studies have shown that girls achieve higher grades in schools than boys, even in science-related fields.

For instance, an analysis published in 2014 by Psychology professors Daniel and Susan Voyer via the American Psychological Association website found that “despite the stereotype that boys do better in math and science, girls have made higher grades than boys throughout their school years for nearly a century (1914-2011).”

In the journal titled ‘Gender Differences in Scholastic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis,’ the Voyers based their findings on a meta-analysis of 369 samples involving the academic grades of over one million boys and girls across nearly 30 countries.

70 per cent of the samples consisted of students from the United States. The findings clearly show that girls consistently outperform boys in all subjects, including science-related fields where boys are traditionally believed to excel.

The researchers suggest that social and cultural factors may contribute to this trend. For instance, parents might push girls to work harder in traditionally male-dominated subjects, believing boys have a natural advantage. This added effort could explain why girls consistently did better across disciplines.

Gender difference in learning styles is another possibility.

Past studies have shown that girls often prioritise learning and understanding the subject matter, while boys tend to focus on achieving good grades. “Mastery of the subject matter generally produces better marks than performance emphasis, so this could account in part for males’ lower marks than females,” the authors wrote.

The story is the same in Nigeria. Of the top 100 students that excelled in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) examination in 2009 for instance, 61 per cent are females, with girls claiming seven of the top 10 spots.

Yet, in Nigeria, women remain underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. According to the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), women constitute only 22 per cent of STEM graduates in Nigerian universities.

This raises questions: How did STEM become so male-dominated? Were there historical barriers? How have societal expectations shaped this imbalance?

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The American Association of University Women (AAUW) suggests that spatial skills – critical in STEM – are not innate but learned. With proper training, women can enhance these skills, boosting their confidence and competence in technical fields.

There are numerous reasons for gender disparity between men and women in the STEM field. Some of the reasons cited by AAUW include stereotypes, gender bias, sexism and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities.

Women Thriving in Tech and Trucking

Niona Nio-Ogie, a zoology graduate, faced repeated rejection in her job search before transitioning into tech. After enrolling in a data analysis course to boost her employability, she eventually pivoted to selling tech gadgets. Despite the challenges, she has built a thriving business in an industry with few women.

In 2021, Ms Nio-Ogie, also known as ‘Your Favourite Gadget Girl’ decided it was time to take another path. “I looked within my circle, I had a friend who was in the industry and I reached out and he served as my mentor,” she said, adding that being a female in the industry, she had to work “twice as hard and do a lot of marketing.”

She rarely comes across females in the business. Unlike Mrs Ajayi who balances motherhood with her work, the 24-year-old’s attention is “solely’’ devoted to her business.

Similarly, Blessing Egbeyemi, an Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) undergraduate, juggles academics with a laptop repair business. Though clients sometimes question her abilities, she remains undeterred. “One client once asked, ‘So if I give you a laptop now, you can actually fix it?’” she recounted. “People assume I have a man working behind the scenes.”

Despite such challenges, Ms Egbeyemi continues to break barriers and inspire others, proving that gender should never limit one’s ambitions.

Navigating the tech repair sector with relatively rare female representation “feels isolating” but Miss Egbeyemi said it is a “great chance to stand out and create a unique brand.”

According to the undergraduate, there is a growing opportunity for women in tech, however, “those opportunities don’t always extend to tech repairs.”

Since the 25-year-old started, she has repaired many devices and brought smiles to her clients’ faces. She has fixed various faulty laptops, from broken hinges, malfunctioning keyboards, and cracked screens to hardware failures.

While Mrs Ajayi specialises in mechanical and electrical engineering, 23-year-old Omolade Ademola delivers goods with a large ‘22 tyres’ articulated vehicle to make ends meet.

After secondary school, her family encouraged her to pursue a “feminine” vocation like tailoring or hairdressing. Instead, she trained as a truck driver, facing scepticism from male trainers who doubted her strength and ability.

“Though I had no idea which vocational skill to acquire, my aunt’s husband had two trucks. So, he hired two drivers to drive the trucks and asked me to monitor them and write down their supplies,” she said.

Months after following the trucks, Ms Ademola expressed interest in the job and informed her aunt’s husband in 2019 who ensured she got the necessary training.

Navigating a male-dominated field has its challenges. The Oyo-born truck driver recounted facing societal pressures and discouragement, especially from some of her colleagues, who questioned her suitability for the job they believed was for “older men.”

The notion reflects deeply ingrained gender biases that exist within the industry and the society at large.

Data from a survey conducted by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) in 2022 shows that there are less than three per cent female truck drivers in Europe and the world. While the trucking industry is witnessing a growing number of female employees, it still lags in achieving gender parity and fostering an inclusive environment.

Being a woman in a non-traditional role also has its perks.

Ms Ademola has experienced unexpected support from strangers, including “area boys,” readily offering assistance whenever her vehicle encountered difficulties, helping her put it back on the road.

“My company often prioritises my preferences, allowing me to choose my delivery destinations,” said Ms Ademola. “When there’s a waiting line for trucks, they often load my truck first, which sometimes upsets my male colleagues.”

Since she began her career as a truck driver, she has never encountered a female truck driver. However, she said there are opportunities for women in the field.

Changing perceptions

Meanwhile, Mrs Ajayi noted that although her job is perceived as a “dirty” profession, there are other areas women can exploit.

“This field is vast,” she said. “You can go into car wrapping, diagnostics, or even just analysing vehicle health reports. Women don’t have to be elbow-deep in grease to succeed.”

There is a need for societal change to recognise women’s contributions and potential, advocating for equal opportunities and mentorship, Ejiro Umukoro, a journalist and career development specialist told PREMIUM TIMES.

Ms Umukoro stressed the importance of encouraging girls in STEM subjects and separating home and work roles to foster gender equality and success in tech and other fields.

“We must stop discouraging girls from following their dreams,” she said. “If a girl wants to be an engineer, let her be. If she wants to join the military, support her. Don’t let gender biases stop her from pursuing her goals.”

She noted that some countries are now recognising the value of women’s roles, including their biological cycles, and making accommodations for them in the workplace.

She called for women to occupy more space in tech and other fields to ensure that the next civilisation is not solely shaped by a male mindset.

Women like Mses Ajayi, Nio-Ogie, Egbeyemi, and Ademola are not just breaking barriers – they are reshaping industries. And as they continue to thrive, they pave the way for the next generation of women to do the same.

Page planned and produced by: Oladayo Jonathan