General News
Africa’s Women’s Day: Campaign Challenges Nigerian Employers to Bridge Gender Gap
By Iyojo Ameh
Nigerian companies have been urged to take concrete action to improve women’s representation in the workplace as a new campaign, Fair Start, launched on Africa’s Women’s Day in Lagos.
The campaign, developed by advocacy firm Gatefield, seeks to dismantle systemic barriers holding back women in the private sector.
Findings from the McKinsey Women in the Workplace 2025 report reveal that only one in three entry-level jobs in Nigeria’s formal private sector is held by women. Women who reach senior roles are 30 percent more likely to leave within a year, largely due to rigid workplace policies and lack of support. Despite 77 percent of CEOs listing gender equity as a priority, just 33 percent of companies track promotion data by gender.
To address the gaps, Fair Start outlines five measures for employers: increase female hires at entry and mid-levels, establish structured promotion pathways, track and act on gender-disaggregated data, introduce caregiver-friendly policies, and make leaders accountable by tying equity outcomes to performance reviews.
“We created Fair Start to show what’s possible when equity is embedded by design, not treated as an afterthought,” said Christinah Akintoye, Narrative Practice Lead at Gatefield.
The campaign has attracted endorsements from business leaders. Mayowa Kuyoro, Partner at McKinsey Nigeria, said companies must build systems to retain women. Amina Oyagbola, Board Chair of Afrobarometer, called for leadership to track and publish gender data.
Vivianne Ihekweazu, MD of Nigeria Health Watch, noted that policies alone cannot close the gap without supporting systems, while Fola Olatunji-David, Partner at KickOff Africa, stressed that women are often excluded early in the career pipeline.
Employers are invited to visit fairstart.gatefield.co to sign the public pledge.
