Gender Bias and Barriers to Women's Career Advancement in Civil Service of Kebbi State, Nigeria.

This study investigates gender bias and the barriers to women’s career advancement within the civil service sector in Kebbi State. Specifically, it examines the areas where women face unfair treatment in their professional careers, the obstacles they encounter while progressing in their jobs, and the coping strategies that could enhance their career development. The research adopts a cross-sectional descriptive design, involving 198 female employees selected from the ministries through random sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data and was analyzed using SPSS version 28.0. Three research questions and corresponding hypotheses were formulated to test the study’s variables. The research questions were addressed using descriptive statistics, such as the frequency and percentage of cases. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. The results of the first hypothesis indicated notable differences in experiences of gender bias between junior and senior staff, suggesting that job position influences how employees perceive and experience gender bias in their workplace. The second hypothesis revealed marked differences in cultural beliefs between junior and senior staff, indicating that job position affects how employees experience and perceive cultural beliefs regarding women’s careers. The third hypothesis demonstrated no statistically significant difference between junior and senior staff regarding their perceptions of the impact of coping strategies on women’s career progression, suggesting that both junior and senior staff generally share similar views on the role of coping strategies in career advancement. The study offers targeted recommendations to foster an equitable working environment for women in the civil service and to enhance their career prospects.