Abstract
Gender inequality and barriers to progress in the workplace are prevalent concerns to researchers. Hence, discrimination, inequality, marginalization, and violence are all common experiences for women. This study empirically examined gender inequality and career progression using the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State. The study employed survey research design. The population of the study comprises of all police officers in Lagos State Police Command. The simple random sampling techniques was used in selecting the sample of the study. The data for the study were collected using a self-developed questionnaire by the researchers. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics of regression and correlations analysis. The results from the analysis indicated among others that gender inequality has positive and significance effect on career progression. The study also found that cultural factors, family factors, individual factors and ideological factors negatively affect career progression. Also, it was discovered that female family responsibility has negative and significance relationship with career progression in the Nigeria police force. The study recommends among others that in order to reduce the incidence of gender inequality to a minimal level there is need for Nigerian police authority to design family-friendly policies and ensure that it has been put into full practice. This will assist female employees who are juggling work and family responsibilities thereby reducing the marginalization and discrimination among women employees in work places.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Women have always been seen as children and domestic employees. People appear to be open-minded regarding gender equality concerns in the present farce. This remains the situation. Only one out of every six women and one out of every five men feel that males must work while women stay at home, according to Clutterbuck and Devine (2017). This aging mindset has produced a host of needless hurdles for women to overcome in their pursuit of jobs According to Kimmel; men had to return home with both a job and a happy family (2011). Because males could do anything, women could not. Legislators and economists both are concerned about married women's ability to match their male partners without endangering their family's interests when they seek careers outside of their home countries. Blau (2011). Women confront a number of obstacles, according to Ilagan-Bian (2004), including unpleasant bosses or coworkers, discrimination against males, and male chauvinism. Clutterbuck and Devine (2017), continue to identify male bias and the old boy network as key obstacles. As well as Ilagan- Bian (2014). To attain parity of status, Women must put forth more effort, be more qualified, ambitious, and talented than males. (Bryce, 2018). They do not, however, have the same ease in advancing to positions of responsibility as their male counterparts with comparable occupations, experiences, and qualifications (Bryce, 2018). Some women even strive to be like their male employees in the hopes of moving up the corporate ladder faster. (Ilagan-Bian, 2014). Many women have had to take a more aggressive attitude in the workplace due to male domination.
Gender inequality and barriers to progress in the workplace are prevalent concerns. According to a previous research, women with advanced degrees have high job-related aspirations during their first few years of employment; nevertheless, they quickly encounter career limits and shift their career trajectories during pregnancy and child-rearing (Chukwezi, 2004). (2011). Another research discovered that socio-cultural variables such as established gender roles influence job progression. Female interns and residents expressed internal turmoil while seeking to combine work and family obligations (Nziome, 2012). Female physicians highlighted bad working conditions and traditional gender roles as impediments to continuing their careers in a survey from Japan, where the labor structure is comparable to that of Korea (Zhang, 2013).
Discrimination, inequality, marginalization, and violence are all common experiences for women. Furthermore, federal character is given excessive advantage in the recruitment, training, and advancement of males in the Nigeria Police Force, demonstrating that representational bureaucracy is not gender sensitive. The 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, according to Nwankwo (2012), totally excluded women. Women should hold thirty percent (30%) of all elective positions in every country, according to a decision made at the Beijing Conference in China a few years ago. It is disputed if this has been achieved in Nigeria. Despite the fact that the number of female police officers in Nigeria is growing, they continue to face prejudice in their careers, and there is a pressing need to investigate the causes of these issues.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The rise and persistent survival of women in high-level positions in companies today is dependent on their own resolve to confront and overcome considerable challenges and difficulties in their path, some of which are too severe to handle and others that are less important. Only a few examples are male chauvinism, business cultures/traditions, and organizational politics. As women go up the corporate ladder, they face a variety of challenges (Evertson and Nesbitt, 2014). Some obstacles, such as delayed upward growth, weigh women down in their pursuit of career advancement, and so on, set them up for failure. Massive obstacles, exams, and trials for female employees are examples of such situations. One of the most significant barriers for women is a lack of appropriate education, which prevents them from easily getting commercial and public sector jobs where they can have a career. It forces women to work in the informal economy, where they earn little money to support their families (FIDA, 2011).
1.3 Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions:
1. To what extent has gender inequality impacted career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
2. To what extent has female family responsibility affected career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
3. To what extent has policies and practices affected gender inequality and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
4. What are the factors that contribute to gender inequality and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to empirically examine gender inequality and career progression using the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State.
This study intends to achieve the following objectives:
1. Examine the extent to which gender inequality has affected career progression in the Nigeria Police Force.
2. Establish if female family responsibility affects gender inequality and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force.
3. Identify policies and practices that contribute to gender inequality and career progression in Nigeria Police Force.
4. Determine the factors that support gender inequality and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force.
1.5 Research Hypotheses
Ho: There is no significant relationship between gender inequality and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
Ho: There is no significant relationship between female family responsibility and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
Ho: There is significant effect of policies and practices of gender inequality on career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
Ho: There is no significant effect of factors contributing to gender inequality on career progression in the Nigeria Police Force?
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study on gender inequality and career progression in Nigeria Police Force will be of tremendous importance to:
The Nigeria Police Force: The study will help the Nigeria Police authorities on how to offer advantageous family-friendly policies that are adopted for substantive rather than symbolic reasons that will produce real changes in its organisational structure and behaviour.
Females in Work: Female employees will be able to strike a balance between work and family responsibilities, allowing them to devote more time to their office duties and, as a result, eliminate a high level of stress related issues, such as a sense of not having enough time, among other concerns.
Researchers: The study will serve as a blueprint for future reference, which may help in charting a new course for gender inequality and career progression. The research will further establish the extent of gender inequality as an attachment of career progression and the impact on the family and not undermine the ability of the other gender.
Policy Makers: The study will serve as a blueprint for policy makers to design family-friendly policies to assist female employees who are juggling work and family responsibilities.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is limited to gender inequality and career progression in the Nigeria Police Force: a study of Lagos State Police Command (2015 – 2020). The targeted participants include the entire police officers and men of Lagos State Police command. This research will examine gender inequality and career development and consider the factors contributing to the challenges of gender inequality and career progression in the state, and finally recommend possible and effective strategy to tackle the problems.
1.8 Organisation of the Study
The organisation of this study was divided into chapters and they are as follows: chapter one deals with background to the study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope of the study, limitations to the study, organisation of the study. Chapter two encapsulates relevant literature on the topic which includes introductory remarks, thematically organised conceptual review of variables, theoretical framework, chapter three looks at the introductory remarks, methodology of the study which covers research design, population and sample of the study, sample size determination, sampling technique, method of data collection, research instrument, validity of research instrument, reliability of research instrument, method of data analysis, and ethical consideration. Chapter four discusses data presentation and analysis, analysis of research questions, hypothesis testing, summary of findings and discussion of findings. Chapter five, the concluding chapter, summarises the work, makes recommendations, conclusion and suggestions for further studies.
