Nine in 10 Nigerians back women leaders, but institutions lag – Report

Nearly nine in 10 Nigerians say they are comfortable with women leading major companies, but institutional barriers continue to limit women’s access to leadership positions.

Findings from the 2025/2026 ‘Nigeria Leadership Readiness Brief of the Reykjavik Index for Leadership report’, reveal strong public support for women’s leadership across sectors, even as workplace equality and political representation remain significantly lower.

The report was presented on Thursday during a press briefing organised by the advocacy group Gatefield, where Shirley Ewang, the organisation’s advocacy lead, shared key insights from the study.

According to the report, Nigeria’s overall leadership readiness score rose slightly to 59 in 2025 from 57 in 2024, suggesting increasing public confidence in women’s leadership capabilities.

However, researchers say this growing acceptance has yet to translate into institutional change.

Strong public support for women leaders

The index found that 89 per cent of Nigerians are comfortable with women serving as Chief Executive Officers of major companies, while 77 per cent say they are comfortable with women serving as political leaders.

It also recorded a three-point improvement in men’s perception of women’s leadership, with the male index rising from 53 to 56, largely driven by older men expressing stronger support.

Despite these gains, only 55 per cent of Nigerians believe gender equality has been achieved in the workplace, creating a 34-point gap between leadership acceptance and perceived equality at work.

The report said this gap indicates that public attitudes are no longer the main barrier to women’s leadership.

Instead, institutions have been slow to convert societal acceptance into tangible opportunities.

Declining perception of workplace equality

The study also recorded a significant decline in perceptions of workplace equality.

In 2024, about 62 per cent of Nigerians believed gender equality had been achieved at work, but this fell to 55 per cent in 2025, marking the steepest drop among all indicators measured.

The report suggests two possible explanations.

One possibility is that economic pressures may have disproportionately affected women, resulting in discriminatory layoffs, reduced services that women depend on, or worsening workplace conditions.

Another explanation is increased awareness of gender discrimination, as more women publicly speak about workplace barriers and media coverage of these issues expands.

Men more pessimistic than women

Interestingly, the survey found that Nigerian men are more pessimistic about workplace equality than women.

While 58 per cent of women believe equality exists in the workplace, only 52 per cent of men share that view.

The report suggests this pattern may reflect rising visibility of inequality among men, while women’s relatively higher optimism may reflect adaptation to long-standing structural barriers.

Sector gaps persist

The index assessed perceptions of women’s leadership across 23 sectors, revealing sharp disparities.

Banking, finance, education and pharmaceuticals ranked among the strongest sectors for gender equity, demonstrating successful and scalable examples of women’s leadership.

However, sectors traditionally dominated by women performed poorly.

For example, childcare recorded the lowest score at 33 points, placing it 40 points below banking and finance, which topped the ranking at 73 points.

Similarly, fashion and beauty scored 46 points, despite Nigeria’s fashion industry generating billions annually and being largely led by women.

Researchers noted that most gender equality initiatives focus on helping women enter male-dominated fields such as engineering, automotive manufacturing and aerospace.

Meanwhile, limited attention is paid to strengthening sectors where women already lead, including the care and creative economies.

Corporate progress, political gap

The report also highlighted a significant divide between women’s representation in corporate leadership and politics.

Women currently occupy 31.1 per cent of board seats in Nigeria’s largest companies, but hold only 4.2 per cent of seats in parliament.

The report warns that this imbalance risks creating a system where women are trusted with economic leadership but excluded from political decision-making.

Yet public opinion appears far more supportive: 77 per cent of Nigerians say they would be comfortable with a female head of state.

Experts urge institutional reforms

Experts who spoke during the briefing stressed that stronger institutional reforms are needed to translate public support into meaningful leadership opportunities.

Blessing Adesiyan, CEO of Caring Africa, noted that sectors linked to caregiving are often undervalued despite being largely driven by women.

Ms Adesiyan explained that when care work is treated as informal private labour rather than public infrastructure, women’s leadership within those sectors is frequently overlooked.

Ekemini Akpakpan of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) said public support alone is insufficient.

Ms Akpakpan noted that institutional barriers still prevent many women from accessing leadership positions, adding that sectors such as banking and finance show how intentional policies, including leadership quotas, can drive measurable progress.

Similarly, Rachel Pindar of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said societal attitudes have already shifted in favour of women’s leadership but institutional structures have not kept pace.

For Omowunmi Akingbohungbe of the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), properly supporting sectors largely powered by women could unlock significant economic opportunities.

Ms Akingbohungbe noted that strengthening these industries could create jobs, boost the creative economy and contribute billions of dollars to national output.

Itunu Hunga of the Women in Leadership Advancement Network (WILAN) added that stronger accountability mechanisms are needed to increase women’s representation in leadership, particularly within political institutions.

Broader gender gaps persist

The findings also align with broader concerns about gender inequality in Nigeria.

The call for stronger institutional reforms comes amid the release of the Women, Business and the Law 2026 report by the World Bank Group, which highlights gaps between Nigeria’s gender equality laws and the systems needed to enforce them.

According to the report, Nigeria scored 50 out of 100 on legal frameworks for gender equality but only 21.7 out of 100 on supportive policies, institutions and infrastructure required to implement those laws.

The findings suggest that fewer than a quarter of the mechanisms needed to make gender equality laws effective are currently in place.

The report also reveals stark regional disparities, with states such as Lagos and Oyo performing better on legal gender equality indicators.

By contrast, some northern states, including Bauchi and Kano, recorded significantly lower scores in areas affecting marital and inheritance rights.

READ ALSO: IWD: Nollywood actress, others canvass support for women-led initiatives

One of the report’s most striking findings is Nigeria’s zero score on the Parenthood indicator, reflecting the absence of federal legislation mandating at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave or legal protections against the dismissal of pregnant workers.

It also highlights restrictive provisions within Nigeria’s Labour Act that limit women’s employment in certain sectors and night work, as well as the absence of comprehensive legal guarantees for equal pay for work of equal value.

Although the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act provides legal protections against gender-based violence, the report notes that implementation remains weak and support services are often underfunded.

About the index

The Reykjavik Index for Leadership is the first international measure of societal perceptions of women’s suitability for leadership across 23 sectors.

The 2025 Nigeria survey involved 1,082 working-age adults aged 18 to 65, with responses statistically weighted to reflect national demographics.