The World Bank has said that only 10.5 per cent of women in Nigeria are employed in wage and salaried jobs as of 2025.
The bank in its latest gender data report stated that Nigeria’s labour market remains heavily skewed against women in formal employment, despite relatively high participation in the labour force.
The World Bank report shows that while 80.7 per cent of Nigerian women aged 15 and above are active in the labour market, most are concentrated in low-quality jobs that offer little income security or social protection.
The disparity becomes more pronounced when compared with men. About 17.0 per cent of employed men in Nigeria are in wage and salaried roles, significantly higher than the 10.5 per cent recorded for women.
This gap also extends beyond Nigeria when benchmarked against peers. Women’s wage employment in Nigeria trails the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 16.9 per cent, lower-middle-income countries at 26.5 per cent, and the global average of 54.6 per cent.
The data shows structural barriers limiting women’s access to formal employment, including skills gaps, limited access to capital, and social constraints that push many into informal or unpaid roles.
The report shows that Nigerian women are disproportionately engaged in vulnerable employment, with 79.1 per cent of female workers in such roles compared to 54.8 per cent of men.
