Workers’ Perception of Gender Issues and Women’s Place in the Banking Industry in Nigeria

Women play vital roles in the society but despite the social responsibilities attached to their being, they have since inception, received unequal recognition especially in the allocation of strategic and leadership positions in organizations. This however, is due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices, patriarchal structures and the disequilibrium in the work-life spheres of female employees. All these affect female employees’ upward movement politically, socially, economically and institutionally especially in Nigeria. The theory of gender stratification was adopted in explaining this study. Quantitative and Qualitative data were collected through the use of questionnaires and in-depth interview. The quantitative data were analysed using frequency and percentage distribution while content analysis was used for qualitative data. The sample comprised 257 respondents selected through the use of purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Findings showed that majority of the respondents agreed that there is under-representation of female employees in leadership positions in the banking industry. Majority of the respondents are of the opinion that socio-cultural and religious factors culminated to the marginalization of female employees. Based on these findings, bank management is therefore recommended to apply fairness in the distribution of strategic roles and responsibilities among its employees without gender prejudice. Keywords:  Banking industry, Gender issues, Gender stratification theory, Marginalization, Perceptio

Non-meritocratic Factors and the Recruitment Process in Oyo State Civil Service, Nigeria

This study focuses on non-meritocratic factors that influence recruitment process. The main purpose was to investigate the factors that influence recruitment and selection in Oyo state civil service apart from merit, and ascertain perceived consequences of non-meritocracy in the recruitment process. The survey research method was adopted; quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed in the collection of data. Results show that the dynamics of the recruitment and selection processes in Oyo State civil service are driven more by nonmeritocratic influences such as ethnicity, religion, statism, politicization etc. which have become embedded into the socio-economic and political organization/structure of Nigeria. Merit is undermined, thereby making efficiency and effectiveness difficult to achieve in the civil service. We suggest, like many others, that meritocratic principles should be firmly entrenched in the Oyo State Civil Service and that the recruitment process should be devoid of non-meritocratic factors.Keywords: Bureaucratic organization theory, Civil service, Meritocratic, Non-meritocratic,Recruitmen

Gender differences in the perception and handling of occupational stress among workers in commercial banks in Ibadan, Nigeria

Occupational stress is common among workers in many organizations, especially individuals that work in extremely rigorous and demanding institutions like the bank. Thus, the study was aimed at investigating gender differences in the perception and handling of Occupational stress among bank workers in Ibadan metropolis. The theory of job demands-control (support) was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Data was obtained through quantitative research methods, in detecting the levels of stress within the organization, the perceptions of workers concerning their jobs and working environments, stress management techniques and job control. Purposive sampling method was used to select 300 respondents from 15 commercial banks within Ibadan metropolis. Findings from the study showed that there is gender difference in the way bank workers handle occupational stress and the coping mechanisms adopted. In testing the hypotheses, with a t-value 3.205, it was identified that male and female workers perceived stress similarly while the t-test results showed that respondents did not have adequate control over their jobs although in comparing the both genders, the males had more control over their jobs than female workers. In view of these findings, the paper recommends thatbanking institutions should create and encourage their workers to participate in recreational activities and events. The paper also recommends that bank workers should seek social support from friends and family members as coping mechanism rather than succumbing to negative coping mechanisms like smoking and consuming alcohol