Nigeria 2019 Chart page

Women’s ability to earn money is not only a fundamental economic right but also critical to improving their and their family’s wellbeing. Through or programme, women gain knowledge in small business management and in a vocational skill (e.g. tailoring) that can help them earn.

In Nigeria, around 50% of the population live in extreme poverty. This data shows that with investment and support, marginalised women are able to lift themselves out of poverty and provide more stability for their families. 30% of women graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported personal earnings of at least $1.90 a day, compared to 8% at enrolment.

Savings and assets are critical for women and households to cope with economic shocks, by providing a safety net for hard times. For women living in poverty, savings can be seen as an unaffordable luxury. In our programme, women learn how they can save even on a low income.

96% of graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported saving a portion of their earnings, compared to 32% at enrolment – a 200% increase.

While women in Nigeria report having sufficient quantities of food in the house, this does not necessarily speak to food quality Generally, women’s vulnerability in Nigeria manifests in other ways (social marginalisation, limited access to credit etc.)

Upon graduating from our year-long programme, 98% of women reported having sufficient food in the house in the last four weeks, compared to 83% of women at enrolment.

Any significant increase in the number of women practicing family planning is extremely encouraging. As well as supporting women to know their reproductive rights, our programme supports women to have greater decision-making power (which we see in Goal 5.6), access to referral services such as access to contraceptives and increase their self-efficacy (which we see in 5.1) – all of which contribute to the increase in women who practice family planning.

71% of women on our programme in Nigeria reported sometimes of frequently practising family planning at graduation compared to 61% at enrolment.

Many of the women who enrol on our programme have never completed primary school due to discrimination in their communities that undervalues girls and blocks them from opportunities Increases in education for girls is a positive sign of change across generations.

59% of the women graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported girls being in school, compared to 56% at enrolment. 

Women gaining confidence is central to their empowerment, believing in themselves and their abilities to participate, succeed, engage and create change for themselves, their facilities and communities. It is also a positive sign of recovery from trauma and isolation. Using a set of questions commonly used in women’s empowerment research studies, we present self-efficacy as a score on a scale of 0-1, where 1 indicates the highest possible level of self-efficacy. 

The perceived self-efficacy of the women on our programme in Nigeria has increased by 265% on graduation, from 0.23 on average to 0.84 on a scale of 0-1.

In the conservative communities where we work, women are denied influence over decision-making including over their own bodies. Our data highlights an important shift in women’s voices being heard in decision-making which should also lead to positive changes in wellbeing and self-efficacy.

89% of women graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported being involved in decisions about having more children, compared to 18% at enrolment – a 394% increase.

Women face multiple barriers in accessing employment. For example, in Nigeria, attitudes in communities favour men working with women expected to stay at home to cook, clean and look after children. Yet, women’s employment is critical to their economic opportunities and livelihoods.

On graduation of our programme, 98% of women reported employment across all occupation levels compared to 70% at enrolment.

Conflict and poverty increase women’s vulnerability to all forms of violence, with violence acting as both a consequence and a drive of discrimination with women surviving violence being more vulnerable to further abuse. According to national statistics, 16% of women in Nigeria have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

17% of graduates from our programme in Nigeria reported publicly speaking out against abuse compared to 2% at enrolment – a 750% increase. This significant change in women’s confidence to speak out against violence against women is especially promising given the prevalence in this context.

Women’s engagement with groups in their community demonstrates women’s increasing participation. Informal networks are key for providing social and economic support as well as group decision-making skills through elections of committees to manage the group.

The percentage of women who were a member of a group outside of our training had increased by the end of our year-long programme in Nigeria, from 96% at graduation from 71% at enrolment.