the issue of gender discrimination in nigeria
My proposed course of study, international human resource management was chosen as a result of the prevailing issue of gender discrimination as it relates to recruitment, training, pay and promotion in the Nigerian public service. Women constitute roughly half of Nigeria's population and by extension half of the work force. However, the types of work, condition under which women work and their access to opportunities for career advancement differs greatly from men. This discriminatory practise in Nigeria has contributed greatly to her underdevelopment.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2015 report, it was reported that between 2010-2015, on the average, 72.3% of senior positions in the state civil service were occupied by men compared to 27.7% occupied by women. The report also indicated that employment in the federal MDAs by both grade level and cadre skewed in favour of the men. At the national parliament, 94.3% of seats were occupied by men compared to 5.7% occupied by women and in the tertiary education only 25% of teaching staffs are women.
The Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) identifies women's role in the economy as a critical area of concern and calls attention to the need to promote and facilitate women's equal access to employment and resources. Furthermore, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets the achievement of full and productive employment and decent work for all including women to eradicate poverty and hunger.
Therefore, removal of employment inequalities that woman face will bring about rapid development in Nigeria.
The federal government of Nigeria since independence has formulated employment policies aimed at promoting equal employment opportunities for men and woman. However, this has not been successful in solving the problem thus, the need for experts in human resource management equipped with the knowledge of closing gender gap in employment. A master's degree in international human resource management will equip me with the knowledge and skills to design and implement a strategic human resource framework void of discrimination against women as it relates to recruitment, pay and promotion and which also meets international standard for the Nigerian public service. This degree will also equip me with the knowledge of international human resource policies and best practices to be an advocate of equal employment opportunities for both men and women in Nigeria. Upon my return to Nigeria, I will seek employment in the ministry of labour or federal civil service commission. This will afford me the opportunity to directly apply the knowledge and skills I have acquired during my study to close the gender gap within the Nigerian public service. Furthermore, I will leverage on my new knowledge and network of contacts to advocate for equal employment opportunities for both men and women. My goal is to contribute to the development of Nigeria by reducing employment inequalities faced by women. Every woman who has been previously deprived of equal employment opportunity in the Nigerian will benefit from my study and the impact of my work can be measured using statistics.
