Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Nigeria's narrow career pipeline for women
Africa | Diversity & Inclusion | Workforce
July 15, 2025 – In Nigeria, while women’s representation remains steady across the various rungs of the career ladder, entry-level representation is low, at just 33 percent. This initial underrepresentation cascades across the pipeline, constraining women’s representation at more senior positions. Barriers to entering formal employment in Nigeria create a limited talent pipeline of women candidates at the outset, explain Partner Mayowa Kuyoro and coauthors. Surmounting those hurdles is critical to achieving greater gender parity in leadership roles.
To read the report, see “Women in the Workplace 2025: India, Nigeria, and Kenya,” May 12, 2025.
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Visual form
Stacked bar chart by seniority level.
Layout / body structure
The chart is a single panel read left to right across the career ladder from entry level to C-suite. Each seniority level is represented by one vertical stacked bar split between women and men.
What is being compared
It compares gender representation across six levels in the Nigerian private sector: entry level, manager, senior manager or director, vice president, senior vice president, and C-suite.
Measurement system
Each bar uses percentage share, with the female share shown in blue at the bottom and the male share shown in black above it. A right-side annotation summarizes the approximate steady level of women’s representation across managerial and C-suite roles.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The first bar shows 33 percent women and 67 percent men at entry level. The remaining bars stay clustered near 29 percent women and roughly 71 percent men, with one dip to 28 percent women at senior vice president. A dotted reference line on the right connects to a bold annotation of about 29 percent, reinforcing the flat pattern through senior ranks.
Main takeaway from the visual
The visual shows that the core problem is not a steep drop-off later in the ladder but a narrow pipeline from the start. Women’s share begins low and then stays almost flat all the way through to the board rather than improving at higher levels.
Key standout values or extremes
Entry level is the highest female share at 33 percent. Manager, senior manager or director, vice president, and C-suite all sit at 29 percent, and senior vice president dips slightly to 28 percent. The persistent near-29-percent plateau is the most important pattern in the chart.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.