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Today, there is a wage gap in Nigeria, for men and women who are entirely equal in education, experience, and job titles, both work in the same line of work, men get paid more. This is a statistical fact, not an unfortunate story.
In Nigeria, the gender pay gap is a systemic problem. It is not an issue of equal pay for equal work. It is a problem of a crushing unpaid care burden, legal systems that do not keep pace with global standards, inequities in the labor market, and a system that gives preference to certain professions.
This report for 2026 is both comprehensive and driven by data. In this report, we will focus on the pay gaps observed at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
We will rely on gender equality indices and academic research to provide a statistical account of Nigeria’s gender pay gap on an occupation-by-occupation basis.
We will analyze the disparities in pay and the segmentation of the workforce.
Executive Summary: Key Statistics at a Glance
| Indicator | Women | Men | Gap |
| Wage and salaried employment (% of employed) | 10.5% | 17.0% | -6.5 percentage points |
| Vulnerable employment (informal/unpaid work) | 79.1% | 54.8% | +24.3 percentage points |
| Time spent on unpaid domestic/care work (daily) | 21% (~5 hours) | 4.1% (~1 hour) | 5x more for women |
| Human capital wealth share | 26.3% | 73.7% | Women hold 1/3 of men’s value |
| Labour force participation rate | 80.7% | — | Exceeds global average of 48.9% |
| Account ownership (financial inclusion) | 52.2% | 74.3% | -22.1 percentage points |
Sources: World Bank Nigeria Gender Data Landscape 2026 ; NBS Time Use Survey 2024 ; Norrenberger analysis
The Formal Employment Gap — Who Gets Paid Work?
Only 10.5% of Nigerian Women in Wage Employment
In the World Bank’s Nigeria Gender Data Landscape 2026, only 10.5% of women in Nigeria are engaged in wage employment compared to men, of whom 17.0% are employed.
This suggests that nearly ninety (90) percent of the women who are employed in Nigeria are not engaged in wage employment. Most work in informal, unpaid, or precarious forms of work.
The number is much lower when compared to similar countries: Sub-Saharan Africa, on average, employs 16.9% of women in wage employment.
This isn’t about women deciding to not work. In Nigeria, 80.7% of women are part of the labor force, compared to the global average of 48.9%. This shows that women are part of the labor force, but are not compensated for their work in the formal economy.
Vulnerable Employment: The Quality Gap
The report from the World Bank shows that 79.1% of employed women work in the vulnerable employment of self-employment or unpaid family work, compared to 54.8% of men.
This type of work is not adequate for women to prosper economically because of the low income, lack of legal protections, and a lack of job security.
In regards to the labor statistics, women working in roadside vegetable selling, women working on family farms in an unpaid capacity, or women doing piecework are all considered “employed.”
The unfortunate thing is that women in these jobs all lack a salary, benefits, pension, and security in case there is a violation of the law.
The Agricultural Sector Divide
The labor statistics for agriculture shows another dimension to the employment gap. The World Bank data shows that 23.6% of women work in agriculture, while 42.7% of men work in this sector.
This implies that women do engage in agriculture, but a majority of them do so in an unpaid capacity on family farms, and not in a paid capacity on formal farms.
A January 2026 peer-reviewed study published in PLOS One, of 32,000 people, shows that farming is a male-dominated sector at 61.1%, whereas retailing and wholesaling are female-dominated sectors at 74.4% and 65.8%, respectively. These sectors also have direct effects on income.
The study also revealed significant regional differences:
- In southern Nigeria, women are more diversified across farming and trade activities
- In northern Nigeria, farming is predominantly male-dominated (68.6% men vs 31.4% women)
The Unpaid Care Burden: The Hidden Driver of the Pay Gap
Women Spend 5x More Hours on Unpaid Work
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Nigeria Time Use Survey (NTUS) 2024 — the country’s first stand-alone national effort to measure time allocation — provides stark evidence of the unpaid care burden that drives the gender pay gap .
According to the survey:
- Women spend 21 per cent of their day (approximately five hours) on unpaid domestic and care work
- Men spend just 4.1 per cent of their day (approximately one hour) on similar tasks
- Women spend five times more hours than men on unpaid domestic and care work
Urban vs. Rural Divide
The burden is even heavier in rural areas:
| Location | Women’s Unpaid Care Time | Men’s Unpaid Care Time |
| Rural areas | 24.1% of day (~5.8 hours) | 3.7% of day (~0.9 hours) |
| Urban areas | 19.8% of day (~4.8 hours) | 4.3% of day (~1 hour) |
Impact on Paid Work and Education
The NBS survey found that men spend significantly more time on paid work (System of National Accounts productive activities):
- Men: Average 6.2 hours per day on paid work
- Women: Average 3.9 hours per day on paid work
Participation in learning activities also reflects a gap: 15.2 per cent of men engage in learning-related activities compared to just 10.5 per cent of women .
The report concludes that the unequal distribution of unpaid labour has direct implications for women’s participation in paid employment and education. In households with 10 or more members, women’s participation in paid work drops sharply as caregiving demands increase .
The Economic Cost of Invisible Work
The NBS report notes that unpaid household service work is traditionally excluded from national accounts and labour statistics, leading to what it describes as “an underestimation of the national income and results in biases in various areas of economic analysis” . By excluding this substantial portion of housework — most of which is performed by women — official statistics not only understate national income but also limit policy recognition of unpaid care work.
Average Monthly Salary in Nigeria by State (2026): State-by-State Breakdown
Occupational Segregation: Where Women Work vs. Where Men Work
The gender pay gap is not only about unequal pay for the same job. It is also about occupational segregation — the concentration of women in lower-paying sectors and roles.
Sectoral Champions and Laggards
According to the Reykjavik 2025-2026 Index for Leadership, which measures women’s suitability for leadership across 23 economic sectors in Nigeria, the economy can be divided into “champions” and “laggards” :
Champions (sectors where women’s leadership is both scalable and profitable):
- Banking and finance
- Pharmaceuticals
Laggards (sectors where women lead at scale but remain undervalued):
- Fashion and beauty (despite Lagos being a global fashion hub generating billions annually)
- Childcare (scored 33 out of 100 — 40 points behind the banking industry)
The childcare sector’s poor ranking is particularly concerning given that women bear the overwhelming burden of unpaid care work. The sectors where women are most concentrated are precisely those that are systemically undervalued.
Agricultural Value Chain: Gendered Division of Labour
The PLOS One academic study provides detailed data on how men and women are distributed across agricultural occupations
| Activity | Women’s Share | Men’s Share |
| Farming | 38.9% | 61.1% |
| Agricultural labour | 23.5% | 76.5% |
| Retailing | 74.4% | 25.6% |
| Wholesaling | 65.8% | 34.2% |
The study also examined welfare outcomes using household consumption expenditure as a proxy. It found that farming households spend the least, while households with wholesalers have significantly higher expenditures . Since women are concentrated in retail and wholesale trade (lower-paying than formal employment but higher than subsistence farming), the relationship between occupation and gender is complex.
Regional Differences Matter
The study emphasises that regional differences blur simple gender-occupation distinctions:
- South-West Nigeria: Women are more engaged in trade-related activities (19.9% in retailing, 21.4% in wholesaling)
- Core North (North-West, North-East): Women’s engagement in farming is only 36.3%, with 14.3% in retailing and 7.4% in wholesaling
- Core South (South-South, South-East): 59.9% of women in farming; 12% in retailing, 8.4% in wholesaling
- North Central: Highest female engagement in farming at 64.6%
Corporate Leadership and Board Representation
Progress at the Top, Stagnation at the Bottom
The Reykjavik Index for Leadership reveals a fascinating paradox in Nigeria: social readiness for female leadership has increased, but institutional delivery has regressed .
Positive indicators:
- Nigeria’s overall leadership readiness score climbed to 59 (up from 57)
- Nearly nine in ten Nigerians state they are comfortable with women serving as CEOs of major companies
- 77 per cent support women at the helm of the state
- Women have secured nearly 31.1 per cent of board seats in Nigeria’s largest firms
Negative indicators:
- Only 55 per cent of Nigerians believe gender equality actually exists in the professional sphere — a seven-point drop from 62% in 2024
- Women hold fewer than one in twenty seats (4.2%) in parliament
- The perception of workplace equality is actually worsening
This divergence suggests that while progress is visible at “elite” levels of policy and high-profile appointments, everyday economic conditions for women may be deteriorating.
The Profit vs. Power Gap
The Reykjavik Index highlights a critical imbalance: women are increasingly trusted with market profits but remain excluded from state power. The report’s authors call this the “profit vs. power gap”
Conclusion: The Path Forward
The gender pay gap in Nigeria is not a simple problem with a simple solution. It is a multi-layered issue rooted in occupational segregation, the unpaid care burden, legal gaps, financial exclusion, and regional disparities.
But the data also shows that Nigerians are ready for change. Nearly nine in ten Nigerians support women as CEOs. Women’s labour force participation is among the highest in the world — 80.7 per cent. The willingness exists. What is missing is institutional delivery.
Closing the gender pay gap is not only a matter of justice. It is economic necessity. According to the Mastercard Foundation, advancing gender equality in Africa could add $316 billion to GDP . In Nigeria specifically, closing the human capital wealth gap would unlock productivity, entrepreneurship, and innovation on a massive scale.
References
- World Bank. (2026). Nigeria Gender Data Landscape 2026. Cited by Punch Newspapers
- National Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Nigeria Time Use Survey (NTUS) 2024. Cited by Vanguard
- World Bank. (2026). Nigeria Gender Data Landscape 2026. Cited by Pulse Nigeria
- World Bank. (2026). Nigeria Gender Data Landscape 2026. Cited by APAnews
- National Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Nigeria Time Use Survey (NTUS) 2024. Analysis by Pinnacle Digital Platform
Also see: Minimum Wage vs. Living Wage in Nigeria: The Statistical Gap (2019–2026)
