The World Bank has said that only 10.5 per cent of Nigerian women are engaged in wage and salaried employment, highlighting a sharp imbalance in access to formal, income-paying jobs in the country.

This was contained in the Nigeria Gender Data Landscape 2026 edition obtained by The PUNCH from the World Bank website on Monday, which assessed gender gaps across employment, economic rights, and access to opportunities.

The report showed that while female labour force participation remained relatively high at 80.7 per cent in 2025, the majority of women were concentrated in low-quality and informal jobs, with only a small fraction earning stable wages.

Specifically, it stated that “wage and salaried workers (percentage of employment)” stood at 10.5 per cent for women in Nigeria in 2025, compared to 17.0 per cent for men, indicating a wide gender gap in formal employment opportunities.

The figure is also significantly lower than peer benchmarks, as the report showed that women in Sub-Saharan Africa had a wage employment rate of 16.9 per cent, while the global average stood at 54.6 per cent. The data suggests that nearly nine in 10 working Nigerian women are outside formal wage employment, largely engaged in informal, unpaid, or vulnerable work.

Further analysis in the report revealed that 79.1 per cent of employed women were in vulnerable employment, compared to 54.8 per cent for men, reinforcing concerns over job quality and income security among female workers.

Similarly, a significant proportion of women were concentrated in agriculture, with 23.6 per cent of female employment in the sector, although this was lower than the 42.7 per cent recorded for men.

Despite the weak presence in wage-paying jobs, the report noted that women were actively participating in the labour market, with their participation rate of 80.7 per cent exceeding the global average of 48.9 per cent.

However, the World Bank emphasised that participation alone does not translate into economic empowerment, as job quality remains a major constraint. “The gender data landscape highlights opportunities for enhancing gender equality outcomes in Nigeria to support productivity and wealth gains, reduce poverty and increase shared prosperity,” the report stated.

The report also examined youth labour dynamics, showing that female youth unemployment stood at 6.29 per cent in 2025, lower than 11.0 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 14.9 per cent globally. Male youth unemployment was even lower at 4.42 per cent.

Also, the share of young women not in education, employment, or training was 13.4 per cent in 2024, compared to 10.5 per cent for young men, pointing to early labour market disadvantages for females.

Beyond employment outcomes, the report highlighted structural barriers limiting women’s access to economic opportunities, particularly weak legal protections and enforcement.

According to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law index, “laws in Nigeria provide women with only 51 per cent of the legal rights afforded to men,” while “only 49 per cent of mechanisms to support the implementation of equal opportunity laws are in place.”

It added that enforcement remains weak, noting that “women’s legal rights are enforced at only 34 per cent of their full potential, according to experts in Nigeria.” The report further disclosed that Nigeria did not implement any reforms affecting women’s economic opportunities between October 2, 2023, and October 1, 2025.

Financial inclusion indicators also reflected gender gaps, with 52.2 per cent of women having access to financial accounts in 2024 compared to 74.3 per cent for men. Similarly, 36.5 per cent of women saved through formal financial systems, lower than 50.2 per cent for men.

On asset ownership, the report showed that 88.5 per cent of women did not own land as of 2018, compared to 58.9 per cent of men, showing limited control over productive resources.

In corporate leadership and decision-making, women remained underrepresented, accounting for just 37.9 per cent of employment in senior and middle management roles in 2024. Firms with female top managers stood at 14.3 per cent in 2025, while only 18.4 per cent of firms had female ownership participation.

Political representation was also low, with women occupying 3.91 per cent of seats in the national parliament and 8.82 per cent of ministerial positions in 2024. The World Bank stressed that improving women’s access to quality jobs, including wage employment, would be critical to unlocking productivity gains and reducing poverty in Nigeria.

“Greater equality under the law fuels women’s employment and entrepreneurship,” the report noted, adding that stronger enforcement of existing laws would expand women’s access to jobs and economic opportunities.