Socio economic gender inequality in Nigeria: A review of theory and measurements

The aim of this article is to synthesize the various views of gender inequality and various indicators used to measure it. It argues that women lag behind men in most indicators of socio-economic development and they constitute the majority of the poor, the unemployed and the socially disadvantaged. Productive differences as espoused by the traditional neoclassical as well as the institutions and markets advancement are not sufficient to explain gender inequality. The political economy view of power and self-interest enshrined at the household, community and government play relevant role in defining gender gaps. Growth models that are institutionally blind completely leaves out the impact that social institutions such as family, school, unions, government have in shaping inequalities. The collective self-interest and power within institutions motivate men and women to allocate the resource under their control to activities that best enable them to fulfill their obligations rather than to activities that are common