Nigeria’s labour market remains heavily skewed against women in formal employment, with only 10.5% of employed women in wage and salaried jobs as of 2025, according to the World Bank’s latest gender data report.
The figure highlights the dominance of informal and vulnerable work among women, despite relatively high participation in the labour force.
The World Bank report shows that while 80.7% 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.
What the report shows
The disparity becomes more pronounced when compared with men. About 17.0% of employed men in Nigeria are in wage and salaried roles, significantly higher than the 10.5% 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%, lower-middle-income countries at 26.5%, and the global average of 54.6%.
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% of female workers in such roles compared to 54.8% of men.
Vulnerable employment typically includes self-employment and unpaid family work, often lacking job security, stable income, and legal protections.
Also, a significant share of women remain in agriculture. About 23.6% of employed women work in the agricultural sector, compared to 42.7% of men.
While the female share in agriculture is lower than men’s, the sector still represents a major source of employment for women, often characterised by low productivity and earnings.
Youth employment trends show mixed outcomes
The report also highlights trends among young people. Female youth unemployment stood at 6.29% in 2025, lower than the 11.0% average for Sub-Saharan Africa and 14.9% globally.
Male youth unemployment was even lower at 4.42%, indicating relatively better outcomes for young men.
However, the share of young women not in education, employment or training (NEET) was 13.4%, suggesting that a significant number remain outside productive engagement.
Legal and structural constraints persist
Beyond labour market indicators, the World Bank report points to systemic constraints limiting women’s economic participation.
Under its Women, Business and the Law index, Nigeria scored 51%, meaning women enjoy just over half of the legal rights afforded to men.
Support systems for implementing gender-equal laws remain weak, with only 49% of the necessary frameworks in place. Even more concerning, enforcement of these rights is estimated at just 34% of its full potential.
The report noted that no reforms were introduced between October 2023 and October 2025 to address these gaps.
Financial access is improving, but gaps remain
Access to financial services shows some progress but remains uneven. About 52.2% of women had accounts at financial institutions in 2024, compared to 74.3% of men.
Similarly, 36.5% of women reported saving through financial institutions or mobile money, lower than 50.2% for men.
Limited financial inclusion continues to restrict women’s ability to transition into formal employment or scale businesses.
Broader development challenges affecting women
The report also highlights broader social indicators affecting women’s productivity. Nigeria’s maternal mortality ratio remains high at 993 deaths per 100,000 live births, far above global averages.
Adolescent fertility stands at 86.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19, while 30.3% of women aged 20–24 were married before age 18.
These factors contribute to lower educational attainment and reduced participation in higher-value economic activities.
The World Bank noted that improving gender equality outcomes is critical to boosting productivity, reducing poverty, and achieving shared prosperity in Nigeria.
What you should know
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has not released any new Labour Force Survey report since November 2024.
- The last report was for the second quarter of 2024, which disclosed that 85.6% of Nigeria’s working-class population is self-employed, signifying the dominant role of self-employment in the nation’s labour market.
- Employees are those earning wages or salaries, including paid apprentices, while self-employed individuals, also referred to as own-account workers, operate businesses independently or with partners.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate in Nigeria decreased to 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 1 percentage point drop from the 5.3% recorded in Q1 2024. However, on a year-on-year basis, the rate increased slightly by 0.1 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023.
