An Overview of the Labour Input of Female Administrative Staff in Nigerian Public Universities

Abstract

Although there is an increase in female participation in the labour force, there remains a significant gender gap in the administrative positions in Nigerian academia. This study therefore assessed the labout input of female administrative staff in terms of their contributions to the various job schedules in Nigerian Public Universities. With the aid of the Gender – Organization-System model, the study explored the complex variables that affect the labour input and career progression of female administrative staff. The study adopted the survey research design and utilized data from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was generated through the administration of questionnaires on 675 purposively selected female administrative staff from three randomly selected Public Universities from Southern western Nigeria. The questionnaires were distributed across the middle and senior administrative staff category in the six universities. The retrieved questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of percentages. The study revealed that majority (55.5%) of the female administrative staff did not chair committees; rather they acted as secretaries (46.6%). Most of them (42.6%) performed routine clerical assignments, while 33.3% attended mainly to files. Also, it was found that a number of societal values and norms combined with some organizational and individual attributes of females provided explanations for the trends in the labour input of female administrative staff in Nigerian Public Universities. The study concluded that concerted effort is required by universities to rid themselves of the vestiges of gender imbalance in the labour force.

Keywords: Labour Input, Female, Administrative Staff, Public Universities, Nigeria.