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(IJAW) WOMEN in the NIGERIAN CIVIL SERVICE B. Alex-Hart Ph.D

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(IJAW) WOMEN in the NIGERIAN CIVIL SERVICE B. Alex-Hart Ph.D WHAT’S ETHNICITY GOT TO DO WITH IT? THE WORKPLACE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF ETHNIC MINORITY (IJAW) WOMEN IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL SERVICE B. Alex-Hart Ph.D. 2016 I WHAT’S ETHNICITY GOT TO DO WITH IT? THE WORKPLACE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF ETHNIC MINORITY (IJAW) WOMEN IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL SERVICE BIEBELE ALEX-HART A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of East London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2016 I Abstract This thesis examines gender and ethnic inequalities in the Nigerian civil service through the lived experience of Ijaw women and the strategies they adopt to combat perceived discrimination. A theoretical framework of structure, culture, agency, intersectionality, and social identity theory underpinned this research. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was adopted within which 40 in-depth semi-structures interviews were conducted. Findings indicate that for most respondents, ethnicity is a politicised identity while gender identity tends to be passive. Other emerging identities were revealed such as language, age and indigeneship (having historical ties to one’s state of residence). Civil service organisations were found to legitimise inequality regimes with respect to gender and ethnicity. These inequality regimes are definitive of Ijaw women’s workplace lived experience. While some participants identified as traditionalists, others adopted strategies such as ‘Awaiting Divine Intervention’, Masking, Exiting the organisation, Assimilating, Performing, Negotiating and Reforming the system, to combat perceived discrimination in their organisation. Key words: Structure, Agency, Intersectionality, Inequality Regimes, Gender, Ethnicity II Contents Abstract....................................................................................................................................II List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... VIII List of Figures........................................................................................................................ IX Abbreviations ..........................................................................................................................X Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER 1.............................................................................................................................1 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale of Study............................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Theoretical Framework....................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Organisation of the Thesis................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2...........................................................................................................................12 ETHNIC AND GENDER IDENTITIES IN NIGERIA......................................................12 2.1.1 Perceptions of ethnicity and women in the village democracies of the Igbos .................. 14 2.1.2 Perceptions of ethnicity and women in Ijaw Society......................................................... 17 2.1.3 Perceptions of ethnicity and women in Oyo Empire...................................................... 19 2.3 Ethnicity and women’s identities in post-colonial Nigeria .................................................35 2.3.2 The practice of Indigeneity................................................................................................ 42 2.3.3 Federal Character Principle.............................................................................................. 45 2.3.4 Language Diversity and Ethnic Relations in Nigeria....................................................... 51 2.4 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................66 CHAPTER 3...........................................................................................................................67 LITERATURE REVIEW .....................................................................................................67 3.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................67 3.1 Structures, Culture and Agency.........................................................................................67 3.2 The Question of Identity.....................................................................................................71 3.3 Race and Ethnicity: Biology or Social Construction? ........................................................73 3.4 Conflation of Race and Ethnicity .......................................................................................76 3.5 Ethnic Identity Development..............................................................................................81 3.7 Intersectionality as a theoretical framework......................................................................91 III 3.8 Social Identity Theory........................................................................................................93 3.9 Inequality Regimes in Organisations .................................................................................96 3.9.1 The Bases of Inequality ..................................................................................................... 97 3.9.2 The shape and degree of inequality................................................................................... 98 3.9.3 Organising processes that produce inequality ................................................................ 100 3.9.4 The invisibility of inequalities.......................................................................................... 105 3.9.5 The legitimacy of inequalities.......................................................................................... 105 3.10 Ethnic Minority Women’s Career Strategies in Organisations .....................................106 3.10.1 Fending off the Stereotype............................................................................................. 110 3.10.2 Discouraged by the Stereotype....................................................................................... 112 3.10.3 Resilient to the Stereotype.............................................................................................. 113 3.11 Conclusion......................................................................................................................113 CHAPTER 4.........................................................................................................................117 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS........................................................117 4.0 Introduction .....................................................................................................................117 4.1 History of models of research...........................................................................................118 4.1.1 Positivist Approach .......................................................................................................... 118 4.2 Phenomenology ................................................................................................................120 4.2.1 Hermeneutic phenomenology.......................................................................................... 121 4.3 Emic Considerations ........................................................................................................123 4.4 Ethical Conduct of the Research......................................................................................125 4.5 Selecting Research Participants .......................................................................................126 4.6 Interviewing research participants ..................................................................................130 4.7 Reflexivity: Locating the Self ...........................................................................................131 4.8 Considering an Intersectional Approach .........................................................................136 4.9 Data Analysis....................................................................................................................141 4.9.1 Phase 1: Initial Engagement ........................................................................................... 144 4.9.2 Phase 2: Immersion into the data.................................................................................... 144 4.9.3 Phase 3: Incubation......................................................................................................... 145 4.9.4 Phase 4: Illumination ...................................................................................................... 145 4.9.5 Phase 5: Explication........................................................................................................ 146 4.9.6 Phase 6: Creative Synthesis............................................................................................. 146 4.9.7 Phase 7: Integration and validation...............................................................................
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