Abstract
The labour market represents the avenue where human labour is traded and rewarded. Labour market sources of income are mainly through wages and self-employment earnings. The extent to which an individual or a household participates in the labour market and the way in which the market remunerates its labour can determine both the status of the individual or household, as well as the risk of poverty.
This study would address the conceptual clarification of Nigeria labour forces was exhaustibly discussed. labour market features, structure of the Nigerian labour force, trends and patterns of labor force participation in Nigeria, factors affecting labor force participation in Nigeria, women empowerment and economic growth, and labour act of Nigeria were also critically examined.
This study also focus on female participation in Agriculture, Informal sector and formal sector, the role of Education in female labor force participation in Nigeria, determinants of female labour force participation, problems of working women in Nigeria, forms of discrimination against Women, women’s contribution to economic growth, evidence on the importance of women to economic development, constraints on realizing the full potential of women in the process of economic development.
The study concludes that Age, Marital Status, Household size are some of the factors influencing the labour market participation of women positively and significantly, while Age squared, non-labour income, health status, ownership of land are some of the factors reducing the women labour market participation. Therefore, it may be concluded that there is an increase in the population of women participation in Labour force over the years and this has positively influenced the economic growth in Nigeria.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
In many countries across the globe, the debate on female labor force participation has been on stage for over three decades in many countries around the world. One of the most striking phenomena of recent times has been the extent to which women have increased their share in the labor force; in both developed and developing countries, the increasing participation of women in paid work has been driving employment trends and the gender gaps in labor force participation rates have been shrinking. Especially in the 1980s and early 1990s, labor force growth was substantially higher for women than for men for every region of the world except Africa. In the developed industrialized countries, increasing female labor force participation has been linked to the completion of the fertility transition. In many developing countries, however, fertility decline has been slow or stalled1. A study argues that women constitute more or less half of any country’s population2. However, he opined that in most countries, women contribute much less than men towards the value of recorded production both quantitatively in labor force participation and qualitatively in educational achievement and skilled manpower.
In the world today women account for more than half of the world’s population, perform two-thirds of the hours work, receive one-tenth of the world’s income, and have less than one hundredth of the world’s property registered in their names3. In most countries however, women contribute much less than men towards the value of recorded production both quantitatively in labour force supply and qualitatively in educational achievement and skilled manpower4. Female deprivation is particularly acute in the developing countries with high levels of poverty, though in affluent nations women also suffer low status due to conservative attitudes. Despite its significance for the development of women, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of women has remained substantially lower than that of men in the world such that there were only 68 women per 100 men participating in wage earning productive activity in the 20015. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of women varies widely from one country to another as well. In 2001, LFPR of women while staying below 30% in countries like Oman, Malta, Belize, it was above 60% in countries like Iceland, Sweden, and Canada. The situation in some countries is somehow different when looking at the estimates presented by UNDP, female labour force participation rates in 1998 were about 77% in Canada, 95% in France, 74% in Germany, 67% in Japan, 84 percent in Sweden and 77 percent in the United States6.
In the last three decades, the global economy has witnessed the increasing visibility of women, which is partly an outcome of social and political movements that have championed women’s rights7. He further argues that feminist scholars have equally been in the forefront of making women’s contribution to the political economy visible through related scholarship and research. Counting women into the big-picture, therefore, is a fundamental first-step in recognizing their role in socio-economic structures. Along with women’s increasing visibility, it is necessary to analyze the constraints and conditions within which women contribute to the economy.
Improvements in the wellbeing of women are not measured merely in terms of access to resources but also in terms of their sense of worth and dignity. Forms of employment, quality of employment and access to social security conditions are also invariably linked to welfare of women. Employment opportunities available to women need to realize their potential capabilities8.
The Nigerian situation shows that between 1971 and 2004, the percentage of women rose from 12% to 70% of the work force due to women’s participation in further and higher education9. However distinct differences exist in the types of occupation entered by women and men. Women got more jobs in administrative, clerical, personal services and sales occupation, Apart from moving into law, medicine and accountancy, there was no similar movement into science, engineering, ICT and the skilled trades.
Women were not found in managerial occupations: overall, women make up only 32% of managers and senior officials10. Equally, a study notes that apart from traditional humanist professions like nursing, teaching, catering and law, the percentage of women who venture into professions like engineering, architecture are low compared to men11. In the same light Umar & Karofi12 observed that female employment in the Nigerian civil service was historically tended to be lower than male. The trend or behavior of female labor participation has been assumed to be increasing at an increasing rate in many countries including Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the problem
A major problem confronting Nigeria and other African countries is how to sustain a stable growth in output15. This preoccupation is important due to declining state of the country’s per capita income with the growing number of the female population. It shall therefore be to the nation’s advantage to increase the level of female participation to boost total output in today’s competitive world.
Indeed, income inequality in Nigeria is high and not favoring the women, females lose a large proportion of their lifetime income by taking time out of the workplace to have children16. The labor market is a very important source that offers explanation for earnings and income inequality. The structure of the labor market has a significant consequence on employment status and it serves as an important determinant of household income and welfare. Like most labor markets in developing countries, the Nigerian labor market represents one of the major sources of risk through which people fall into poverty17.
The labor market in Nigeria presents opportunities for participants to earn incomes and determine their welfare; however, few women in Nigeria are engaged in top management cadre of formal sector establishments. The last population census analysis of 2006 showed that most Nigerian women dwelled in rural areas, which makes them to lag behind in terms of employment opportunities. Also, educational and health facilities in rural areas are not increasing.
In some places, women are confronted with socio-cultural restrictions (such as marital status, cultural and religious characteristics) especially in northern Nigeria as regards to their involvement in public labor participation. It is therefore important for us to ascertain the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria.
Thus, the Thesis seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What is the level of females in Nigeria Labour Force?
2. Does gender inequality influences the involvement of females in Nigeria labour force?
3. What is the implication of woman empowerment on the economic growth of Nigeria?
4. What is the influence of female labour force on the economic growth of Nigeria?
5. What are the factors that influences the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of this study is to investigate the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria. Some of the specific objectives of this study include the following:
1. To ascertain the level of females in Nigeria Labour Force.
2. To examine the implication of woman empowerment on the economic growth of Nigeria.
3. To find out the influence of female labour force on the economic growth of Nigeria.
4. To investigate the factors that influences the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria.
1.4 Justification of the Study
The significance of this study cannot be overemphasized as the study involves the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria between 2008 – 2012. There is no better time to work on the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria than now. The research work would contribute to the immense literature by focusing on the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria with a view to identifying the factors that influences the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria, how gender inequality influences the participation of females in Nigeria labor force and the implication of woman empowerment on the economic growth of Nigeria.
There is therefore need to revisit our policies to change the status quo by investigating the current determinants of labour force participation in Nigeria. However we also reflect the fact that there could be a difference in these determinants given that most of the forces behind female labour participation is based on cultural and traditional beliefs.The results of this study would therefore go a long way to provide policy implications of involves the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria for both government and nongovernment agencies. It also serves as contribution to knowledge and a reference for further studies by authors that may want to investigate further.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The involvement of women in the labor forces of many countries has recorded a tremendous effect on their economic growth, so this study focuses on investigating the impact of female labor force on the economic growth in Nigeria (2008 – 2012). The scope of this research is largely limited to the period covering 2008 – 2012.