Globally, the number of women getting higher education has expanded to such a level that many countries record more women in tertiary institutions than men. In Nigeria, women in the East getting tertiary education began to surpass men in numbers as far back as ten years ago, with more men in the region opting for trade.

This has reflected in no small measure in the number of women in the corporate world at the entry levels. These numbers, however, will continue to wane further up on the ladder, until there is just a spotting of women’s representation on the board levels.

This phenomenon has been referred to as the gender achievement pyramid, one that has been said to be bad for the cause of gender equality by promoting tokenism and not being all encompassing.

By Anino Aganbi & Chris Onuoha

WITH the rise of women hitting the ceiling in the corporate world, more are being encouraged to come up  higher in these male dominated fields.

Vanguard’s Woman’s Own took time out to assess how true it is and what reasons for such imbalance.

Speaking to Daniel Ogbonna, who had worked as a top corporate personnel in a financial institution, he revealed that number of women in the corporate workplace tended to dwindle within the process of moving up the ladder as a result of pressure. “Take for example, a few years back, certain sectors of the corporate entity were highly dominated by men such as the financial institutions. This was so because the job itself required a lot of brutish strength and resilience. The women tended to be in Humanity, Education, Nursing, among others.  There was also that cultural dichotomy of what sector a man should function and what sector a woman should be in.

“Although, things are changing because in many organizations you would discover that women are beginning to take their place in middle and top level management. Some banks currently are having increased number of female executive directors. In Fidelity Bank for instance, the bank has three executive directors who are female out of nine. That is commendable though, because it has never been so before.  Women are beginning to take their positions and have come into their own space.” Ogbonna said.

Ijeoma Uju

Corporate ladder

Mrs Iyabo Akinkugbe, an ex-banker who worked as a corporate manager, on the contrary disagrees that women tended to drop off as they climbed the corporate ladder. “I do not agree that a lot of women drop off before they get to the peak of the ladder.

When I worked with UBA, I joined at a time where a lot of things had changed. I entered at a managerial level. I had about forty women with me at that level which was quite a lot. Even outside the banking industry, there are lots of women rising up their career ladder. For me, it is only somebody who started working at an entry level who would be able to say how many women were able to rise at each level and those who had to drop by the wayside due to reasons best known to themselves.

Competence vs Culture

The society, ironically, has a lot more to do with reasons why women reduce in number in the workplace as they climb. A woman might be competent enough to handle a certain key position but her obligation to culture might hinder her. How then do we draw the line?

Ogbonna was also of the opinion that “In this part of the world, there is still a really strong influence of culture in the way and manner we interpret things that happen in our society. There are certain women who are very bold to take up some of these challenges with men and they are comfortable with it. It is not an issue of competence but of culture. The society is getting more liberal.”

International outsourcing

Bunmi Akinde, a Senior Partner (Advisory Services) Ernst & Young Nigeria is of the view that holding an enviable top position  in an international outsourcing and human resources organisation puts her in a position to authoritatively reveal the  unseeming challenges that hinder women rising  in a workplace.

She said; “Women in Africa, especially Nigeria work as hard as men at corporate levels, as well as other spheres but certain cultural values, such as domestic responsibilities, unceremonious patriarchal dominance reduce their aspiring spirit.

“There are lots of responsibilities for women both in the workplace and at home. Along the line, in the course of their career as  women, they take time off to have children, raise and take care of them as they grow. Those are some of the challenges women face while moving up the ladder to top positions.

“We are not in an environment or society that allows you take time off to attend to home needs and still perform excellently well at work. We don’t work from home.”

She further stressed that our society is not such that gives women that recognition to rise rapidly in a workplace without the woman putting extra effort to merit it. “Despite the fact that we work as hard as men do, certain policies may not allow you to reach the number one position. Even in a situation you have all the opportunities and qualifications, male dominant society may not give you the chance.”

Marriage: Another reason why women tend to be fewer as they rise up in the corporate ladder is marriage.

According to Ogbonna, “Some women have difficulty balancing work and family. This is another reason why lots of women start out strong career wise, but the higher they climb, the fewer they become.

But nonetheless, I have met  few women who handled both tasks effectively and successfully, and were able to climb up the ladder. On the other hand, if a woman is married to an overbearing man, who is a cultural advocate, advancement in career to the peak will be scuttled.

Maternity leave

 Ogbonna also revealed that a lot of organizations would deliberately not put women at the helm of affairs because they believe women are lax in certain instances. “Some companies are a little bit biased against women. When they are recruiting and looking for people in certain roles, they may not say it in terms of policies but their body language would sometimes lean towards men because  of maternity leave.

“For instance, a woman would go through her three months maternity leave and some organizations would see that as three months wasted. They would prefer to hire a man. As a result, some women would not be encouraged to climb up in the corporate ladder. These things are more cultural rather than performance based”.