Akungba journal of Management 88 NIGERIAN WOMEN MANAGERS: SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING. Olujide, J.O. (PhD) Department of Business Administration University of Ilorin Abstract In Nigeria today, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women who are pursing careers in management. Although armed with appropriate education, training and experience, Nigerian managerial and professional women appear not to have made much progress in entering the ranks of senior management. This study is therefore designed to provide empirical data and shed some light on the characteristics and role of the Nigerian women in management. Data were collected using structured interview based on a formtype format from 40 male and 40 female executives selected from both the private and public sector organizations in Ilorin. Data obtained were analyze using statistical summarization and cross tabulation. Results showed that although there is little or no difference between the traits, abilities, education and motivation of managerial and professional men and women, few female executives get to senior and top management positions. Secondly, the study found that Nigerian women managers are young, highly educated witty and with a modern outlook but their full potentials have not been fully realized because they are seriously constrained by limited access to productive resources. Finally, Nigerian female executives of today suffer from lack of power; this appears to be the most serious problem facing Nigerian women today. Akungba journal of Management 89 Introduction During the past one decade, the dramatic increase in the number of women entering the labour market and pursing professional and managerial careers in Nigeria has had a major impact on the workforce. Although armed with appropriate education, training and experience, Nigerian managerial and professional women appear not to have made much progress in entering the ranks of senior management. They encounter what Morrison (1987) termed a glass ceiling. Today, Nigerian women executives constitute a reasonable component of managerial workforce and their recruitment and development is increasingly see as a bottom line issue related to corporate success. To understand the small number of Nigerian female executives and their underutilization particularly at the senior levels of organizations, the three hypotheses by Burile & Mckeen, (1992) are relevant. The first argues that woman are different from men and that this difference is perceived as a deficiency in them when considered against the male organization norm. Thus, women's attitudes, behaviors, traits and socialization handicap them in the masculine corporate environment. Research support for this position in terms of empirical data has been limited. (Morrison & Von Glinow, 1990). Almost all of the evidence shows little or no difference between the traits, abilities, education and motivation of managerial and professional women and men (Powell, 1990). The second hypothesis builds on the notion of bias and discrimination by the majority towards the minority. It suggests that managerial and professional women are held back by the bias and stereotypes men have of women (Kanter, 1977). Such bias or discrimination is either sanctioned by the labour market or rewarded by organizations despite the demonstrated level of job performance of women. As evidence of this, there seems to be a widespread agreement that the good manager is seen as male or masculine (Schein, 1973, 1975). The third hypothesis emphasizes structural and systems discrimination in organizational policies and practices which affect the Akungba journal of Management 90 treatment of women and which limit their advancement. These policies and practices include women's lack of opportunity and power in organization, tokenism lack, of mentors and sponsors, and denial of access to developmental opportunities such has challenging assignments. To investigate these hypotheses about the status of managerial women, much of the research effort has been limited to the industrialized economies of Europe and America. Little research effort of this nature has been carried out in the less developed economies of Africa and Asia. This geographic limitation has therefore restricted the discovery of the kinds of experiences that exist in the less developed countries that are culturally, politically and economically different from the industrialized nations. (Kanter 1977; Marshall 1984; Jagacinsk 1984; Nicholson & West 1988; Gutek 1993; Burice & Mckeen 1992; Hirsch & Jackson 100-; Equal Opportunities Commission 1991; U.S Department of Labour 1991; Alimo-Metcalfe 1993; Jacobson & Jacgues 1990) etc. In view of this limitation and the fact that governments, business enterprises and management practitioner's pleas for data on how companies, decision and policy makers might respond in less developed countries remain unanswered. Thus, this study is designed to provide empirical data and to shed some light on the characteristics and role of the Nigerian women in management. Objectives of the Study Objectives of the study include: (i) An examination of people's belief about women manager in Nigeria; (ii) To identify the characteristics of Nigerian women managers; (iii) Identify the reasons for the increasing number of females executives; and (iv) Suggest ways by which women's role in management can be enhanced. Akungba Journal of Management 91 Methodology This study is limited to Ilorin capital of Kwara State. It is a preliminary/exploratory study on the expectations and career development of women managers in the Nigeria environment. The choice of Ilorin is not likely to affect the conclusions of the study because the town exhibits, to a large extent, characteristics that are present in the Nigerian working environment. Two sets of sample were constituted for this study. The first sample consisted of 40 female executives working in both private and public sector organizations in Ilorin. They represent the majority of women occupying middle and top management positions in banking institutions , parastatals, public companies, the civil service etc in Ilorin in 2002. the second set of sample consisted of a corresponding 40 male executives selected in the same organizations as the female managers. A purposive sampling frame was used in this research work; sampling units were selected because they can offer the contributions sought and also those they are representative of the population of interest. Data were obtained through structured interview based on a form type questionnaire and it focused on the following issues. Males' attitudes towards women in management Gender discrimination in terms of appointment, function and advancement Role conflicts between the traditional role of women as wives, mothers and their new role as managers. Sex stereotyping: managerial function is seen as an exclusive preserve of men which therefore requires masculine qualities that women are not thought to possess. Education of women, suspicion and hostility towards them in club in reserved for men. Akungba Journal of Management 92 Results For centuries women in Nigeria were considered inferior to men; they were not considered intelligent enough to exercise a vote or take any active part in public life. They were not even thought to be worth educating. This stereotyping has long been documented by researchers, for example, Maccoby (1966) Rosenkrantz et al (1968). Sex role stereotyping has been found to impede the progress of women in management through the creation of "occupational sex typing". According to Merton, occupations can be "sex -typed" when a large majority of those in them are of one sex and there is an associated normative expectation that this is how it should be (Epstein, 1970, p. 152). What then is the attitude and people's belief about Nigerian women managers. Results of the analysis of data collected on the Nigerian women executives show that they are very capable. Table 1 below the results of analysis of opinion of male managers about Nigerian women in management. 90% of our male respondents belief that Nigerian women executives are capable managers and possess characteristics that are similar to male executives; only 10% believe in sex-typing and therefore consider Nigerian women executives incapable. Table 1. Distribution of opinion about whether women are capable managers Opinion Number of Respondents Percentage Capable 36 90 Not capable 4 40 10 100 Source: filed survey The results in table 1 above encouraged us to find out if Nigerian women managers are under any pressure whatsoever from their male counterpart of perform and act in any way similar to them. Results in table 2 below show that only 7.5% of women executives experience Akungba Journal of Management 93 some kind of pressure while the majority of them 29.5% did not experience any pressure. Table 2: Distribution of responses on pressure from male manager for Women executives to live up to expectation Pressure from Male Number of Respondents Percentage manager 3 yrs 3 7.5 No 37 92.5 40 100 This outcome demonstrates that Nigerian male manager have come to recognize the role and worth of women executives. They have realized that women manager are as competent as men as against the traditional notion about women considered inferior and unintelligent. The study also tried to find out whether gender stereotypes are clearly not just perpetuated men alone, and whether women in most organizations have positive/negative attitudes towards other women, especially those in "unusually senior" positions. We therefore sought t the opinion, perception and attitude of male managers to women executives and those of female managers to themselves. The results are contained in tables 3 and 4 below. Table 3: Attitude of male managers towards female executives Attitude Number of Respondents Percentage Supportive 1 12 30 Biased 20 50 In different 8 20 40 100 Source: field survey Akungba Journal of Management 94 Table 4: Attitude of female managers towards themselves Attitude Number of Respondents Percentage Supportive 32 80 Biased In different 3 5 40 7.5 12.5 100 Source field survey Results in table 3 show that 30% of male executives are supportive of women's role in management, 50% are biased towards them while 20% are indifferent. Results in table 4 show that just like men, attitude of women executives towards themselves is supportive (80%); 7.5% are biased towards themselves while 12.5% are indifferent. The possible source of male managers bias towards their female colleagues may lie in the sex stereotyping of management as an occupation that requires masculine characteristic, which it was thought women did not process. Attempts were made to probe into the causes of the unfriendly disposition towards women executives and one male manager said that he cannot imagine himself taking directives form women managers when the holy books prescribe that women should subordinate themselves to the authority of men. He went further ..."I become nervous when a female manager has to preside over affairs and push on decision to me..."There is also the belief shared by male managers that women are not emotionally equipped for managerial job because of their nature; women are considered fragile and temperamental. Furthermore, the attitude of men towards women managers can also be examined from the traditional context. Traditionally, men are the heads of their respective families; they make decisions and women merely implement. But in this case, women managers reverse this role or share the position of head with men. Men see this role reversal as an Akungba journal of Management 95 affront to their masculinity; they think it runs counter to tradition. This, perhaps, helps to explain the unfriendly disposition towards women managers. From the foregoing therefore, women have traditionally been considered, by the society to be inferior, unintelligent and therefore not worth educating. What then are the characteristics of Nigerian female executives? Do they conform to the traditionally held new about women? Results of analysis of data collected on the demographic characteristics of Nigerian female executives are contained in table 5,6,7 between the ages of 21 -30; 25% are between the age bracket 31-40; 25% are between 4150 years while only 7.5% are above 50 years. Table 5 Age distribution of respondents Years Number of Respondents Percentage 21-30 31-40 41-50 51 & above 21 10 6 3 40 52.5 25.0 15.0 7.5 100 Source field survey With respect to the marital status of Nigerian women executives, our results show that Nigerian women no longer see childbearing or their role as wives or mothers as a barrier to their career development. In fact, about 62.1% of our respondents are married at one point time or the other. Akungba Journal of Management 96 Table 6: Marital Status of Respondents Marital Status Number of Respondents Percentage Single 15 27.5 Married 17 42.5 Divorced 5 12.5 Widowed 3 7.5 40 100 Source field survey Table 7 below examined the distribution of our respondents by their educational background. The result of our analysis concerning educational, intellectual development and skill acquisition of Nigerian women executive shows that 62.5% of these female managers have at least university education, 15% have intermediate level of manpower training obtainable in the Nigerian polytechnics while 17% have professional qualification such as ICAN, CIBN, ACII etc. Table 7: Educational Background of Respondents Educational Attainment Number of Respondents Percentage Primary School 0 0 Secondary School 0 0 OND, HND 6 15 B. Sc. MBA, M.Sc. Ph.D 27 67.5 ICAN, CIBN, ACII 7 17.5 40 100 Source field survey Akungba Journal of Management 97 Table 8 below shows the managerial positions occupied by the Nigerian women executives. A preponderant proportion (about 72.5%) occupy middle level managerial positions, 20% occupy senior management position while 7.5% belong to top level management. Table 8: Managerial Position in Organization Level of Management Number of Respondents Percentage Middle Senior Top 29 8 3 40 72.5 20 2.5 100 Source field survey Discussion of Findings The first finding of this study is that Nigerian women managers are young, highly educated, witty and smart with a modern outlook. More than half of female executives constituting the sample for this study are below the age of 30 and in terms of educational and intellectual development, no single Nigerian female executive possesses less than an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) from the polytechnic. Over 60% have university education and another 17% have professional qualifications like ACA, CIBN, ACII etc. Furthermore, more Nigerian female executives like their American and European counterparts no longer see child bearing as a social imperative or an obligation for that matter. This position is supported by the fact about 60% of our respondent female managers are unmarried; they are either single, widowed or divorced. The above discussion points to the fact that the crop of Nigerian women managers are a new breed, different from their forebears who stay at home obediently. These ones are highly trained, are prepared to combine work with marriage, independent and career oriented. Akungba Journal of Management 98 For those of them that are married analysis of their responses to our probing indicate that their role as managers has not conflicted in any form with their role as mothers 63% of our respondents are in this category. Some of them said "I have not experienced any problem of role conflict because I have a husband who understands the mood of the women..." Another one said"... The imperatives This is the only way by which they can achieve economic autonomy thereby contributing to the upkeep of the house and the rearing of the children.." For those of them who have experienced some kind of role conflict, they attributed this to a lack of understanding on the part of their husbands at the early stages of their career and marriage. Secondly, the attitude of the male executives to their female counterparts stems from the traditional belief about women. Men have been alleged not to like uppity women but hide under the guise of brotherly consult. Button and More (1985) say that there is the need for male managers to change this attitude in more positive ways towards women in management. They say that women are at a disadvantage due to their inability to play power games, the powerless are handicapped in leadership. Butter and more went further to say that some of the factors limiting the ability of women include: (a) The act that there is a limit to how far they can go in the organization, and (b) A widespread belief, that women are individual movers that even if they move, they cannot take anyone along with them (Kanterl977). The findings of this study do not support this position however they support the viewpoint that few women executives reach the very top. Only 7.5% of our respondent attains top-level managerial positions. The existence of a male managerial model has been established by a numbers of investigators - O' leary (1974) Antal & Izraeli (1993); and Cooper (1987) confirm that it is the male and not the female sex role stereotypes tat coincides with the managerial model which is one of independence, task orientation, aggressiveness etc. this study did not Akungba Journal of Management 99 confirm the male managerial role model but instead found that the characteristics referred to by these researchers as cited above are not the monopoly of male executives. The study found that they are common both male and female executives in approximately the same proportion. The study rather found that a competence cluster, which includes attributes such as problem solving and decision making abilities are also important qualities of Nigerian women executive. Furthermore, we found that the warmth experience cluster is rather completely ascribed to the female population. This, in addition to the issues rained above, help in invalidating the male managerial model in the Nigerian environment. Another interesting finding of this study is that a far greater number of women candidates for executive positions exist today than was true a decade ago. The reasons for this include: 1. Greater opportunities arising from an unprecedented growth in the services sector where women are dominant. 2. Higher motivation-women do not have careers, they have jobs. But with each passing year more members of the female workforce are sharing the aspiration for careers, they have jobs. But with each passing year more members of the female workforce are sharing the aspiration for career development and success that have traditionally characterized male managers. 3. Greater educational attainment -historically, the more highly educated a woman was, the more likely it is that she would work. Today, a preponderant proportion of Nigerian women are educated and are therefore more eager to avail themselves of the advantages of the labour market rather than limit themselves to the home perpetually. 4. Rising acceptance of working women-since everybody recognizes and accepts the slogan "equality before the law" and added to this is the heightened aspiration of women, both the female employees and their organizations have reasons to break the characteristic polarization of the Akungba Journal of Management 100 workplace into segregated sex occupations. Also this change is due to the assumption of more powerful positions by young managers who are more liberal and are now well disposed to accepting women in non traditional roles. Policy Recommendations and Conclusion This study has found that one of the most serious problems facing today's women executive is the lack of power. It is recommended that in order to get more power, women should throw off the definition of themselves as powerless. If women wish to make changes in the societies they live in, they must seek to achieve power positions. However, this can only be done if they enter the political arena in large numbers and compete for power position since this community' is male dominated despite the female numerical advantage as shown by the current 2003 voters registration. The men certainly cannot be relied upon to initiate and carry though the necessary and required changes. Women should understand that power does not come automatically with the delegation of formal authority but more from the more hidden political processes. Women managers must therefore learn to value both social and organizational politics. In concluding, we want to underscore the fact that the role of \v*omen as active participants in all sectors of the economy has received increasing attention and recognition worldwide; this role is of crucial importance to the future of our country Nigeria. However, in spite of such recognition, the full potentials of women are not fully realized since they are seriously constrained by limited access to productive resources. Also, enormous barrier to the way of women stemmed from our traditional and cultural belief about the role of women in society. These beliefs confine women to the home front and recognize men as bread winners. In the last few decades, women play a major social and economic role in the Nigerian society as professionals. As the Nigerian society evolves and its institutions modernize an increasing number of Nigerian are becoming educated. These young men and women have by Akungba Journal of Management 101 virtue of their education developed a broad horizon and an outlook to lie that is different from that of their forebears. They thus have become 'iberated from the age-long traditional and cultural beliefs about work and the role of women in the society. Women no longer regard the home as their place, they all want to develop a career. They now value success, want to feel successful and remain successful. They therefore have entered into fields hitherto now regarded as exclusive monopoly and preserve for men and included in these is management. Finally women executives have demonstrated that they are as capable as their male counterparts and are ready to play crucial roles in policy formulation and strategic decision making as these affect the profitability and the health of their organizations. 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