A recent study indicates that almost nine out of ten Nigerians are supportive of women in leadership roles within major corporations; however, systemic obstacles still impede women's entry into these positions.
The findings come from the 2025/2026 'Nigeria Leadership Readiness Brief of the Reykjavik Index for Leadership report', which highlights strong public approval for female leadership across various sectors, despite noticeable disparities in workplace equality and political representation.
Presented at a press conference organized by Gatefield, an advocacy group, the report featured insights shared by Shirley Ewang, the advocacy lead.
As per the report, Nigeria’s leadership readiness score saw a slight increase to 59 in 2025, climbing from 57 in 2024, showcasing a growing public optimism regarding women's capabilities in leadership.
Unfortunately, the researchers noted that the prevailing acceptance of women leaders has yet to effectuate significant institutional change.
High Public Support for Women Leaders
The index reveals that 89% of Nigerians are comfortable with women serving as CEOs, while 77% express comfort with female political leaders.
Additionally, there was a three-point rise in men’s perceptions of women’s leadership, with the male index improving from 53 to 56, largely due to increased support from older men.
Despite these advances, only 55% of Nigerians perceive gender equality in the workplace, signifying a stark 34-point difference between the acceptance of women in leadership roles and the belief in equality in employment.
The report suggests this gap reveals that public perceptions are no longer the primary impediment to the acceptance of women leaders but rather points to institutional inertia in translating societal endorsement into meaningful opportunities.
Decline in Perception of Workplace Equality
The study also noted a worrying trend in perceptions of workplace equality, showcasing a decline from 62% in 2024 to 55% in 2025—marking the largest drop among all measured indicators.
Potential factors contributing to this decline include economic pressures disproportionately affecting women, leading to bias in layoffs, reduction of essential services, and deteriorating working conditions.
Another explanation may relate to an increased awareness of gender discrimination, as more women speak out about workplace challenges, alongside greater media focus on these issues.
Men Display More Pessimism than Women
Interestingly, the survey revealed that Nigerian men are more skeptical about workplace equality compared to women. While 58% of women believe equality is achieved in the workplace, only 52% of men share this perspective.
This discrepancy might indicate a growing awareness of inequality among men, whereas women’s optimism may reflect a need to cope with longstanding structural limitations.
Persistence of Sectoral Gaps
The index examined perceptions of women's leadership across 23 sectors, revealing significant disparities. Notably, finance, education, and pharmaceuticals scored well for gender equality, showcasing successful examples of women leaders.
In contrast, sectors with a high female predominance recorded low ratings; childcare, for instance, received the lowest score of 33 points, starkly beneath the top-performing banking sector, which scored 73 points. Similarly, the fashion and beauty industry scored 46 points despite being a significant contributor to Nigeria's economy, largely led by women.
Researchers remarked that initiatives focusing predominantly on facilitating women's entry into male-dominated arenas, such as engineering and manufacturing, overshadow the nurturing of sectors where women are already the leaders.
Corporation vs. Political Representation
The report also pointed out a significant discrepancy between women's representation in corporate roles compared to politics. Currently, women hold 31.1% of board seats in Nigeria's largest companies but only occupy 4.2% of parliamentary seats.
This disparity poses a threat of establishing a dichotomy where women are entrusted with economic leadership yet remain sidelined in political decision- making processes. Public sentiment appears more favorable, as 77% of Nigerians expressed comfort with the idea of a female head of state.
Demands for Institutional Reforms
Experts present during the briefing emphasized the necessity for reform at the institutional level to transform public support into actionable leadership opportunities.
Blessing Adesiyan, CEO of Caring Africa, highlighted the undervaluation of caregiving-related sectors predominantly driven by women. She argued that unless care work is recognized as crucial public infrastructure rather than informal labor, women's leadership in these domains will remain unacknowledged.
Ekemini Akpakpan of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) asserted that societal support alone is inadequate, as institutional barriers continue to inhibit women's access to leadership roles. She pointed out how sectors like banking and finance demonstrate that intentional policies, such as leadership quotas, can produce significant progress.
Rachel Pindar from the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) noted the societal shift in favor of women's leadership is not mirrored in institutional frameworks.
Omowunmi Akingbohungbe from WIMBIZ called for enhanced backing for industries led by women, advocating that strengthening these areas could unlock extensive economic potential, create jobs, and boost the creative sector, ultimately contributing significantly to national development.
Lastly, Itunu Hunga from the Women in Leadership Advancement Network (WILAN) stated that enhancing accountability mechanisms is essential for increasing women’s representation in leadership roles, especially within the political arena.
Wider Gender Disparities Remain
These findings resonate with broader gender inequality issues present in Nigeria. The push for more robust institutional reforms emerges alongside the release of the World Bank Group's 'Women, Business and the Law 2026' report, which highlights gaps between Nigeria's gender equality laws and their enforcement mechanisms.
Currently, Nigeria achieves a score of 50 out of 100 concerning legal provisions for gender equality, yet only garners 21.7 out of 100 in terms of policies and institutions necessary for enforcing those statutes, indicating that fewer than 25% of the systems required to ensure effective implementation are operational.
Significant regional differences are also seen, with states like Lagos and Oyo performing better in terms of legal gender equality indicators, while several northern states, including Bauchi and Kano, exhibit substantially lower scores regarding marital and inheritance rights.
One unexpectedly alarming finding from the report is Nigeria's zero score on the Parenthood indicator, which reflects the lack of federal legislation mandating a minimum of 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, or protections against the dismissal of pregnant employees.
The report also underlines restrictive provisions in Nigeria's Labour Act limiting women's employment in certain sectors and nighttime work, along with the absence of equal pay guarantees for equal work.
While the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act offers some legal protections against gender-based violence, the report highlights that implementation remains weak and that many support services are often underfunded.
About the Index
The Reykjavik Index for Leadership serves as the pioneering international measure of societal views on women's suitability for leadership roles across 23 sectors.
The 2025 Nigerian survey comprised 1,082 working-age individuals aged 18 to 65, with the results statistically adjusted to mirror national demographic information.
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