Gender Inequality, Employment, Workforce Participation on Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Econometric Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamic effects of gender inequality in employment and workforce participation on economic growth in Nigeria from 1980 to 2024. Employing an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) modelling framework, the analysis captures both short-run adjustments and long-run equilibrium relationships between economic growth and key dimensions of gender inequality, including employment (GIE), political participation (GIEPP), and health care access (GIHC). The empirical findings indicate a robust, statistically significant negative relationship between gender inequality in employment and economic growth in both the short- and long-run. Notably, a 10% increase in employment-related gender inequality is associated with a short-run reduction in economic growth of approximately 1.1% and a long-run reduction of approximately 5.49%, underscoring the considerable economic costs associated with the exclusion and underutilization of female labour. Conversely, the long-run estimates reveal positive, significant associations between economic growth and gender inequality in political participation and in health care. These counterintuitive results do not imply that inequality promotes growth; instead, they reflect structural distortions in Nigeria’s growth trajectory, in which aggregate expansion has historically coincided with entrenched institutional and socio-political exclusion. The findings indicate an extractive, non-inclusive growth pattern, with economic gains unequally distributed across gender groups. The study concludes that removing barriers to female employment and increasing women’s participation in productive economic activities are critical policy priorities for achieving sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic growth in Nigeria.