University of Nigeria
Research Publications
EZEJI, Helen Adanma
Author Author PG/Ph.D/03/34370
Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women as Perceived by Secondary School Title Title Teachers in Imo State
Education
Faculty Faculty
Vocational Teacher Education Department Department
November, 2007 Date
Signature Signature
IMPEDIMENTS TO OCCUPATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN AS PEIRCEIVED BY FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN IMO STATE
EZEJI, HELEN ADANMA PG/Ph.D/03/34370
DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSlLJKKA
NOVEMBER 7,2007 UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA
IMPEDIMENTS TO OCCUPATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN AS PERCEIVED BY FEMALE SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN IMO STATE
EZEJI, HELEN ADAMMA PG/Ph.D/03/34370
A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Vocational Teacher Education in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Vocational Education
November 7,2007 This thesis has been a~provedfor the Departrr,ent of Vocational Teacher -. ::ucaiion. ejniversitv of Niaerii3: Nsukka.
, 2ROF. E. C. OSUALA SUPERVISOR Ezeji, Helen A. a Postgraduate student in the Department of Vocatio!nal Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsuklta,
3i.d with registration Number PG/PhD/03/34370 has satisfactl.srilycompleled he requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Vocational Education. Thc work embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other Lhiversity.
. - ,' ; ' ;2 - L=.-.i? b*f*5-t7 - -. / Ezeji, Helen 2. (!Mrs., ' Prof. E.C. Osuala (Student) (Supervisor)
iii This Work is Dedicated to the Almighty God and to my Husband Prof. S.C.O.A. Ezej i and my children-Elmmanuel, Samuel (Jr.) and
Chris Ezeji. The researcher is immensely thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ through S.C .O.A. Ezej i, a propeller, who picked and nurtured her ilcademically , morally and spiritually. His inspiration and leadership greatly motivated the researcher towards continuing and completing this research. The researcher also wishes to express her gratitude to her Supervisor, Prof. E.C. Osuala for his patience send guidance and for l~rovidingtht: materials that facilitated the work. The researcher is also grateful to the following members of staff in thc Cepartment of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Ni,zeria Nsuldca: fir. (Mrs.) C.A Obi for her guidance and for providing materials for the work; Dr. S.A.Ugwo, who served as the design reader, at the proposal stage, for his advice and constructive criticisms; Prof. O.M. Okoro, who served as a content reader at the Seminar stage; Dr. E.A Anaele, who look notes for corrections to be made at both proposal and seminar stages of the work; Prof. N.J. Ogbazi, the Head of Department for his cooperation; and to Mrs. C.K.U. Am and others for their roles at different stages of this work. To all the above and others not mentioned here, the researcher thanks you and prays for God's blessing on us all. Amen. TITLE PAGE ...... i .. APPROVAL PAGE ...... 11 ... CERTlFKAT4ON ...... 111 DEDICAI~ONA r- ...... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... v "TABLE OF CON'TEhl'TS ...... vl !LIST OF TABLES ...... x a ABSTRACT .,...... , ...... xi Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Research Questions Hypotheses Delimitations of the Study Limitations of the Study CHAPTER 119 REVIEW OF REiILA'I'ED Conceptual and Theoretical Framework Socialization-Related Impediments Work Environrnent-Related Impediments Personality-Related Impediments Discrimination-Related Impediments Religious-Related Impediments Related Emperical Studies summary of Related Literature CHAPTER BHP ME'FHODOLOGY Design of the Study Area of the Swdy Population of the Study Sample and Sampling Technique Instrument for Data Collection Validation of the Instrument Reliability of the Instrument Method of Da.ta Collectiorl Method of Data Analysis CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA Research Question 1 '74 Research Question 2 '75 Research Question 3 77 Research Question 4 78 Research Question 5 80 Research Question 6 8 1 Hypothesis 1 83 Hypothesis 2 85 Hypothesis 3 87 Findings 88 Discussion 95 CHAPTER $I SUMMARY:, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 103 Re-statement of the Problem 103 Summary of Procedure Used 105 Principal Findings 105 Conclusions 109 Recommendations 111 Implications for Vocational Education 113 Suggestion for Further Study 114 REFERENCES 115 APPENDIX A: Calculation of the Sample Size 124 APPENDIX B: Computation of the Reliability Coefficient of the lnstrument 12 6 APPENDIX C: Letter to the Respondents 12.8 APPENDIX D: List of Secondary Schools in Hmo State 130 APPENDIX E: Nominal Role of Female Secondary School Teachers According to Local Government Area 14.1 APPFNDIX F: Impediments to Occupational Oppcrtunities of women 143 LIST OF TABLES Tables page no. 1. Distribution of Female Secondary School Teachers in Imo State 2. Mean Ratings of Respondents on Socialization-Related Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women 73 3. Mean Ratings of Respondents on Work-Environment- Related Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women 75 4. Mean Ratings of Respondents on Family-Related Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women '7 6 5. Mean Ratings of Respondents on Personality-Related Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women 78 6. Mean Ratings of Respondents on Discrimination-Related Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women 79 7. Mean Ratings of Respondents on Religious Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women 8 1 8. Work Environment-related Impediments Compared by Age of Respondents ti2 9. t-test Analysis of Socialization Impediments of Respondents in Relation to their places of Residence tr4 1O.Comparison of Marital Status of Female Secondary School Teachers in Imo State in Relation to Family-related impediments $16 Abstract This study was designed to identify the impediments to occupatic~nal opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State. It was guided by six specific purposes and six re$earch questions. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested for the strldy. The st~dy adopted a survey research design. The population comprist:d all the female secondary school teachers in the three Senatorial Zones of Imo State. 'The smnple for the study comprised 695 female secondary school teachers from a population of 3,201. The instrument ibr data collection vas a structured questionnaire which was based on the research questions. The validity and heliability of the instrument were established. For the validily, the researcher wed face validity and the reliability of the instrument was established using the Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r,). Means were used to answer the research questions, while the t-test anld ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. 'The result of the study showed that five out of 10 factors constituted socialization impediments to occupational opportunities of women; five out of seven factors constituted work environment impediments to occ~pati~mal opportunities of women; seven out of 11 factors constituted family-related ilmpediinents to occupational opport~mitiesof women; six aut of 10 kctors jssnsiituted personality-related impediments to occupationa' opportunities of women; five out of eight factors constituted discrimination-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women and four out of six factors constitute religious-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women. Based on these findings, the researcher anlong other things recommended that women should not be sociaiized in ways and manners that will nmke them to believe that they are inferior to men; men should not harass women sexually. Also, Government should find ways of checking sexual harassment of women at their work places. Men should be liberal enough to accommodate women in male-occupatj ons; men should encourage their enterprising wives by assisting them with child-rearing and household responsibilities. Finally, religious groups should allow their members to dress in a manner that will not interfere with their effective functioning in their occupations. xii (CHAPTE:WI INTRODUC'H'FIBN Background sf &heStudy In the last several decades, women around the world have been making steady progress in all areas of life such as work, education, health and politics. For example, in the year 2005, women won the presidential elections in Liberia and Germany. The Population Reference Bureau - PRB (1998) also indicated that the literacy rates for women have risen from 54 per cent to 64 per cent since the 1990s. The gap between girls and boys enrolled in secondary schools has reduced world wide. According to Basaw (1992), moree women are obtaining college and advanced degrees, which now gives them access to jobs for which they were previously unqualified. Basaw (1992) further stated thai worldwide women received only 2.7 per cent of professions1 degrees in 1961 but received 36.3 per cent in the 1990s. This progress, as indicated by the PRB (1998) is not unconnected with the conferences, conventions and seminars among others, where the need to improve the lives of women are continually debated. Omole (2002) and Fadirnonuh (2004) stated that women in many cultures are seen and treated ils inferior to men. This may explain the reason why every step of a wornan seems to be followed by impediments. Impediments are things, wtich delay or obstruct progress in any activity (Wehmeier 2000). Therefore, the 1 impediments to occupational opportunities of women are the obstacles which they encounter in their occupational pursuits which their male counterparts do not always encounter. Occupational opportunities include job openings or vacancies and opportunities for growth or promotion, as may be available to men and women (Ezeji, 2001). Okorie (2000), noted that the occupational opportunities of women are more limited than those of men. Me pointed out that because of the different ' socialization of men and women in both urban and rural areas, women are made to choose occupations considered to be the traditional female occupations such as catering, nursing and teaching. Smith and Ennis (1968), defined teaching as an intimate contact between a more mature personality and a less mature on(:, which is designed to further the education of the later. Female secondary school teachers as their male counterparts are professionals who arc: trained to teach and who are employed either by pu-blic or private organisations to teach at the secondary school level. They are also professionals who may have gone into teaching because of the idea that such occupations are meant for women. According to Kpabep (2006), in the early days of education in Nigeria, science and technical subjects were not taught in 1 girls' schools except biology which has to do with human rebroduction, while teaching (Education) and similar others were reganled as the traditional female occupations. To this effect, most female secondary school teachers may have opted for teaching as a profession in obedience to societal expectations and not as a matter of choice. In addition, majority of the female secondary school. teachers art: the wives of politicians, business inen, government or company employees. Consequently, according to Basaw (1992) these women art: less prompted than men with prestige or status factors irl their career aspiration, because their financial needs are usually placed at the feet of their husbands. As recorded by Melamed (1996), teaching is a service occupation and one in which women are proportionately represented. Roe as cited by Herr and Cramer (1992), indicated that female secondary school teachers like other women in service occupations are primarily oriented toward persons and they come from homes, which generale loving, and over protective climate. Kimbrell and Vineyard in Ezeji (2002), noted that access to teaching is relatively easy and that it is possible to engage in it all over the country, thus reducing the mobility - related impediments to occupational opportunities of female teachel-s. The United Nations Education, Scientific and Culturd Organisation -UNESCO (1986), wrote that women of 2.11 ages avoid I occupations which they consider to be exclusively meant for men for fear of being discriminated against and other problem. 0k~rieand Eze-ji (1988) argued that the feelings about women's role and responsibilities associated with married life scare women away from vocations, considered the traditional work roles of men. According to these authors, most parents and other members of the fhmily rega.rd engineering, architecture, law and blacksmithing among others as masculine jobs and this notion inhibits women's aspiration towards such occupations. In support of the above argument, Omole (2002), found that occupational opportunities of women are impeded by the general notions ' of parents and other members of the family who believe that occupations requiring mathematics and other physical sciences are r.ot meant for women and that girls who opt for such occupations do not make good housewives. Omole (2002) further revealed that most girls develo? hatred and prejudice against science subjects, thus limiting their opportunities for entering into science - based occupations. Riley (1997:r, asserted that women's strong attachment to the family and householld responsibilities make it difficult for them to engage in meaningf~ll business. She stated that whether married, single, divorced or separated, nearly all women in every society have children and that they must fit any business or public activities around the hmily roles. Writing on the impediments to occupational opportunities of women, Okorie (2000), stated that one of the strongest kactors, which I influence women's full participation in certain occupationf: or careers, is religion. The author noted that some Christian religious gl-oups frown xt certain patterns of women's dressing as i.nmora1. Okorie maintained tha~: the influence of such a doctrine on girls during catechism and children evangelism in churches is carried over into adult life. Similarly,, according to the author, the Islamic religion demands that all parts of a woman's body should be covered except for the hce, hands, and feet. To this end, all work activities that may cause women to expose their thighs:, legs, or show the contours of the body are strongly and unanimously '. banned. There is no doubt that the manner of dressing can inhibit effective functioning in an occupation or even prevent people from! entering and progressing in some occupations. Yet womm, like their men counterparts need to participate fully in the development of the: society. Therefore, it is important that obstacles placed on their ways to personal and societal development be identified. h'EaPs?me~dof the &ol'Plern The number of women engaged in occupations classified as professional and technical is considerable. Yet Azikiwe (2001) stated that the opportunities available to women in the labour market are more limited than those of men. She attributed this disparity to socialization, discrimination against women, cultural prejudices, intimidvltion by men through their attitudes and behaviour towards their female counterparts and family responsibilities among others, which limit the presence of women to few sectors such as educaticn, health, social and cultural services. Izualto (1993) indicated that women account for a milch smaller proportion of scientific worlters, engineer's, jurists, economists, architects, administrators and managers. Azikiwe (2001) gave the percentage of female lecturers in some faculties at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1998199 session) as follows: Faculty of Engineering zero per cent; Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry 17 per cent; Faculty of Physical Sciences eight per cent; Faculty of Agriculture 16 per cent; Faculty of Education 34 per cent; and Faculty of Health Science and Technology 46 per cent. The disparity between men and women in these disciplines as noted by Okeke (2004), is more pronounced in developing countries of which Nigeria is one. Okeke (2004) further observed that the low enrolment of women in the sciences is attributed to the fact that the sciences epitomize the characteristics of competitivtmess and aggressiveness among others; while female characteristics that are most enthusiastically praised in the sociely are those of passiveness, respectfulness, intuition and emotionality, thus making it imperative for women to choose occupations which reflect these characteristics. Ezeji (2801) wrote that out of several occupations available fbr both men and women, women are found in a Few service occupations such as teaching, nursing, trading and other social services. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, teaching at all levels is one of the most despised occupations, with the result that most parents do not want their children to be trained as teachers. This notwithstandiilg, teaching continues to be the most attractive occupation for the majority of the women professionals. Even in the teaching profession, wcmen are not always offered positions they are as qualified for as the men, sometimes due to the way society sees them. Also, women's opportmities in the labour market are defined by their roles as perceived by religious, cultural, social and family-related practices and expectations, which constitute unnecessary impediments to their employment md progress. Therefore, it is the recognition that women have to live and work just like men, and the need for them to participate f~11Iyin the labour market that informed the researcher's interest in the study. Pnarpme of the Study The major purpose of this study was to identi@ the impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State. Specifically, the study intended to determine: I 1. Socialization-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers. 2. Work environment-related impediments to olxupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers. 3. Family-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers. 4. Personality-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers. 5. Religious practices-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers. 6. Discriminatory practices-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers. %ignifctsnce of the study The study of the impediments to occupational opportunities of women is significant to the generality of the people in view of the important role women play in the social and economic development of the society. As indicated by Nworgu (2004) women constitute nearly half I of the Nigerian population. To this effect, to ignore factors which I constitute impediments for women to choose, enter and progress in their occupations would be detrimental to the Nigerian economy. Therefore the findings of the studly would be useful to the agents cff socialization such as the churches, schools and the fami1ic:s because the knowledge they would gain from the study would make them to realize that the present way of socializing women may constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities. The findings of the study would provide information which would be used by the Ministry of Women Affairs to ensure a complete eradication of all forms of discrimination against . women. The findings of the study would be useful to scholars in women studies because it would add to the existing literature in the discipline. The findings of the study would be useful to men who adopt all measures to ensure that women do not venture into male-dominated occupations. The findings of the study would be useful to parents who deny their female children equal educational opportunities as their male counterparts just because they believe that to invest on women is an economic waste. The findings of the study would be useful to secondary school teachers in particular and women in general because they would realize that they contribute to the impediments to their occupational opportunities by drifting away from science and technical courses. Finally, the findings of study would be useful to curriculuin I planners, because they would realize the need for serilus vocational guidance at the secondary school level to ensure that girls do not shy away from courses in which they have relevant abilities just because such courses are perceived to be for boys. Research Queskions The following research questions would be answered as part of the study: 1. What are the socialization-related-impediments to occupationa 1 opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State? 2. What are the work environment-related impediments to occupational opportunities of vvomen as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State? 3. What are the family-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secmdary school teachers in Irno State? 4. What are the personality-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State? 5. What are the religious practices-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State? 6. What are the discriminatory practices-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in I-mo State? Hypotheses The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance: H0, There is no significant difference between the meim ratings of female secondary school teachers 30 years of age or less and those 31 years of age or over on the work-place related irr,pediments tc) occupational opportunities of women. H02 There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban and rural female secondary school teachers on tht: socialization-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women. H03 There is no significant difference among the meim ratings of married, single, divorced, widowed and separated female secondary school teachers on the family-related im:pediments to occupational opportunities of women. Delimitations Problems of women are many and varied. Consequently, this study is delimited to problems of women as they pertain to their occupational opportunities and as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Hmo State. Liwii?a~ionsofdhe Slwdy In a research study of this nature where questionnaire is the major data gathering tool, there is always a degree of error in the final analysis of data resulting from the subjective and imperfect manner in which the respondents fill the questionnaire. Therefore this study is limited to the level of co-operation received from the respondents and their ability to understand and interpret the item statements in the instrument. CHAPTER HI REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The literature related to the study was reviewed and presenkd under the following topical headings: Conceptual and Theoretical Famework of the study Socialization-related Impediments Work environment-related Impediments ~amily-relatedImpediments Personality-related Impediments Religious-related Impediments Discrimination-related Impediments Related Empirical Studies Summary of Related Literature Conceptual and Theoretical Framework for the Study Women in every society have always worked. They engage in their traditional unpaid labour which is necessary to maintain the household such as growing food, securing water and filel. The UN (1995), stated that women are increasingly taking on paid work outside the home to augment personal and family income. . These dud responsibilities often termed "reproductive" and "product'ive" by social 1 scientists have played important role in human economic ktivities. The 13 UN (19951, further indicated that although women now constitute mores than 30 per cent of the total work force, cultural and traditional barriers still hinder their efforts to achieve parity with men in public employment. Vaflusen and Sheldon (19771, observed that despite the rapid and global increase in female paid employment and educationd attainment, their occupational choices, earnings and job mobility have never approximated those of men, worldwide. The authors furthx stated that women are concentrated in a few occupations in which they constitute- overwhelming majority of all workers. Johnson, Kabuchu md Kayonga (20031, lamented that women rarely break through the so-called "glass, ceiling" which makes it difficult for them to reach top-level management and professional positions. Evans (197'71, indicated that women do not have as many opportunities as men for occupational choice. The author wrote that 50 per cent of all female workers are in eight occupations and that 75 per cent are in only 20 occupations. Evans (1977) also stated thaj 50 per cent of all female workers are in occupations in which about 75 per cent of workers are women and that there is a tendency for men to abandon an occupation once women are strongly entrenched in it. The International Institute for Educational Planning - IIEP (1 996), noted that women and girls globally constitute the largest single category of persons denied equal opportunities for education and work. The author also indicated that teaching is among the few professiors which are relatively free of discrimination and at the same time give., some measure of social protection. to women emp1oye:es. Although, teaching profession is despised in Nigeria, because of the low status accorded to it, majority of the female professionals are teachers at the secondary school level. According to Nworgu (2004), some of these fernale secondary sckmol teachers were not given full education by their parents or guardians who regarded the education of women as an economic waste since they will be given out in marriage. Most of the times, Wworgu continued, the female secondary school teachers started teaching at the primary school level. With increased educational qualifications, they spilled over to the secondary school level where they form a greater majority of teachers at this level. She staled that in most cases, teaching at the secondary school level was dominated by both married and single women, while men were employed in the higher prestigious positions as well as higher paid positions at all educational levels. Consistent with the above observations, the UNICEF (1 998), noted that women are denied equal rights to work, employment opportunities, job security and benefits available to their male counterparts. UNICEF (1 998) stated that women in managerial positions represent just about 5.5 I per cent of all workers in private and public sectors. 'VanDusen and Sheldon (1977), observed that the principal employers of women are the service industries 'like the medical and health, educational and legal institutions. The authors further wrote that women's occupations are restricted to those with low payment of wages, cheap labour and 1e:;s responsibilities to the employers for the training of the women; that women's occupations rarely require long term commitmmt; they exist almost everywhere and they are those jobs traditionally held by women. The World Bank - WB (1994), noted that women frequently have ' to withdraw 'from the labour market because of the demands of marriage and children. As a result, women are more likely to ch~osejobs that allow them greater flexibility in hours worked. The WB (1994) further stated that this oRen brings a drop in earnings oRen associated with a shift from wage work to self-employment in the informal sector. Legal and regulatory barriers prevent women in some countrim from fully participating in the formal labour market. For example, legal restrictions that forbid women to enter contracts in their own name may stop them from some line of work (Melamed, 1996). Ajanaku (2001), stated that women are mainly engaged in unskilled labour as opposed to men who are engaged in skilled labotr. He further indicated that women are treated as labour reserves. Vere and Wong (2002), found that women are concentrated in ;i few white-collar jobs like teaching, nursing and clerical jobs. Thesc: occupational areas according to the authors tend to be more compatible with women's child-bearinghearing nature and othe:r household. responsibilities, which interrupt their economic activities. More women than men as found by Segal and Lea (1 9!X), are employed in non-manual occupations. In 1990, the percentages as presented by the authors are 69 per cent for women and 48 per cent for men. Also, the largest work category for women was in the clerical and other related aremaswhere they represented 3 1 per cent, followed by managerial and profe;;sional where they represent 29 per cent worldwide. Although, the United Nations - UW (1999), has shown that women are entering areas previously dominated by men, such as medicine, law, accountancy and business studies, Segal and Lea (1992), stated that women are still under represented in the chemical industry, air transport, and in electrical and electronic engineering. The authors also indicated that women are under-represented in law, medicine and bui1din.g professions. Occupational opportunities of women are impeded all over the world by a variety of factors (Basaw, 1992). The UN (2000), identified the impediments as education, socio-cultural, legal and regulatory constraints. Osuala (2004), identified other impediments such as gender roles and responsibilities, occupational stereotyping and segregation and internal constraints. Okorie (2000), added that the obstacles to the occupational opportunities of women include societal perception, gender role expectation, early marriage, religious practices, illiteracy, employers unwillingness to hire women and economic consideration. Contributing to research on the impediments to occupational opportunities of women, Ajoma (1999), noted that they include economic, legal and customary practices, discriminatory attitudes of the employers, of labour, unfavourable work environment, education and religious practiceis, among others. As Peters and Hansen (1977) indicated, other ' impediments are sex-role conditioning and socialization, rde conflict of marriage and work, focus on marriage or its prospects, lack of work orientation, sexism and sex discrimination. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the impediments to occupational opportunities of women are inter-related and interdependent. The seriousness of the impediments also varies from one society to another. For example, in Nigeria and most developed countries of the world, education is no longer an impediment to occupational opportunities of women. In contrast, in almost all the countries of the world, socio-cultural factors, discriminatory practices against women, self-concept and personali!:y traits have continued to impede occupational opportunities of women. Over the centuries, a lot has been written about .Nomen as the feminine gender. Some were written by individuals, othersiby institutions and organizations such as NGOs, the UN and the WB, .among others. Some of what have been written are in favour of women, while others are against them. Some of the popular topics about women are, Women Empowerment, Women in Development, Women Liberation Movement, Better Life for Rural Women and Women in Politics, among others. Conventions and Conferences have also been held about women. For example the 1967 Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Conference - The platform for Action-Fourth World Conference for Women (FWCW). Fadimonuh (2004), lamented that the patriachal inclination of the human race and the tendency to highlight men's areas of' strength as opposed to the physical, intellectual and general irrelevance of women have led to movements, conventions, and conferences on women. Consequently, to write about the impediments to occupational opportunities of men for instance, would make an odd to?ic. This is because according to Anyaoku (1999/2OO2), no country treats its women as well as its men, and in almost all countries of the world, women are over-represented among the unemployed and those living; in absolute poverty. The UN (1995), stated that women's earnings continue to fall short of men's. ]In the United Kingdom for example, women earn on average 70 per cent of men's wages; in Africa, 74 per cent, in Brazil, 51. per cent, in the Republic of Korea 51 per cent and in Japa1143 per cent. I The UN further stated that women throughout their lives have unequal access to health-care services relative to men, a fact that has received serious attention only since the 1985 Nairobi Conference on women. The World Bank (1998), observed that in almost all m;ijor economc sectors, women's needs and interests have been marginalized or ignored, with the result that their status has been lowered and the negative impacts have been borne disproportionately. Most women do not have control or ownership of land or other substantial resources which banks generally require as collateral for loans. This limits, or hinders the economic activities of women disproportionately. All over the world also, gender division of labour assigns to women (as mothers and wives) the responsibilities and tasks related to the care and nurturing of the family (UN, 2001). These responsibilities add to women's workload and often form obstacles to engaging in political actions and economic activities. These have also led to the following myths about women in general and women employees in particular: (I) Women do not want to work or to have a career. The true position is that men are more likely than women to think of their work as career. This is true among workers over 29 years (Belkin, 1989). The reason most women appear less committed to the workforcs than men employees is due to women's great likelihood of being in low-status and low-playing jo'bs. Women are less reliable employees than men. The: truth is that women are not by virtue of their gender less reliable employees. Rather, most women are disproportionately burdened with thc responsibility of young children which in turn affects work attendance. Women have a higher job turnover rate than men, thus their training and education are often wasted. The true position is that among people under the age of 25 as indicated by the U.S. Department of Labour (1985) if the workplace becomes morc: congenial to women in general and ways were found to reducc: the conflict between work and family life in particdar, women'!; job interruption and turnover rate would be reduced. Women have different aptitudes from men and therefore should stick to "women's jobs". The truth is that very few group differences exist between males and females in aptitudes, intelligence, or behaviour. For example, some females are bette:r in Mathematics than some males. In addition, most jobs arc: genderless. Tradition and status, not aptitudes have: labeled job:; as more appropriate for one sex than another. I Women cannot handle positions of power and mcn would not want to work under them. According to Melamecl (1996). se2; does not strongly affect leadership style or ability, although it may affect co-workers expectations and perceptions of the leader. So if more women move into positions of leadership and power, and as more attention is paid to the value of variety of leadership styles, more adjustment will occur, and the occupational opportunities of women will widen (Basaw, 1992). An occupation is a way in which life is spent. It is a specific division or an entity in the world of work that requires the a.pplication of' specific manipulative skills or technical knowledge in its performance (Mitchell, 1977). Osuala (1985), stated that an occupation is more than a collection of duties and responsibilities, and that it determines the kind of life led by an individual. He enumerated the following assunlptions about: occupations: 1) Occupations vary in prestige, while all honest works are considereci honorable, some are more prestigious. 2) Different occupations make different demands on people who chose them. Some occupations require workers to deal with ideas, other!; require them to deal with things. Some occupations demand that workers remain indoors or outdoors, others demand stx-ength, large- strong physique, long period of schooling and some degrees of psychomotor skill!;, among others. 3) Occupations provide different opportunities in tenns of self-. employment, employment by others, payment of wages or salaries, travel, promotion, creativity and monotony, among others. 4) Occupations may undergo changes relating to technological development and professional orgar~izationsand these changes may make occupations to increase or disappear. Also commenting on the term occupation, Ezeji (2001.) stated that a person's occupation affects his standard of living, the opportunities available to him and the people he associates with. The author went further to enumerate the characteristics of occupations related to choice as follows: (I) Different occupations attract different salaries, on the basis of which people prefer one occupation to another. (2) The honor, fame, prestige, respect or esteem associated with an occupation affect the number of people in it. Some occupations make more demands of time, training and hnd, among others than other occupations fiom workers. For instance, mobt of the well- established occupations with specific codes of pract.ice are viewed by many as more prestigious. Security affects people's choice of occupations. Changes within occupations increase feelings of insecurity because such changes may lead to risks in terms of job retention, exposure to hazards such as radiation, fumes and toxic agents and injuries like broken limbs, burns and electric shocks, respectively. Different occupations offer different opportunities for employment, job retention and promotion such that people usually consider these factors as they make their occupational decisions. Occupational mobility is also a factor in the choice of occupations. Mobility could be manifested in the form of promotion, transfer from one location to another, and the transfer of skill or knowledge fiom one occupation to another. Occupations are performed under different conditions and in different environments. Work could be done in the open air, underground, in the sea and in many other conditions and environments. All these have implications for the characteristics of individuals related to choice of occupations which as stated by Osuala (1985), induce them to prefer, enter, remain in, and succeed consistently in occupations for which they have appropriate patterns of traits. Theories could be defined as the representation of systems and beliefs about the nature of people, objects and phenomena. They arc made up of assumptions about the extent to which human beings and phenomena can be modified through experience, and the limits that have to be placed upon human aspiration (Ezeji, 2001). Goethals (1966) stated that a theory is a tool by which explanation is furthered and that being a tool, it could not be said to be good or bad, true or false. But rather as a tool, a theory may be seen. as useful or useless. Thus there are theories of career development and occupational choice among others. According to Bkorie (2000) theories of occupational development are concerned with predictions of vocational decisions and such predictions are based on factors such as developmental levels, childhood experiences, personality characteristics, parental attitudes and socio- economic status. Roe's personality theory of career choice stated that every person inherits a tendency to expend his energies in some particular way. That the inherited tendencies about a manner of expending psychic energy I combined with various childhood experiences direct what people do to I I I ! satisfy their needs throughout life. I Supper's theory of vocational behaviour is based on the fact that people differ in abilities, interests and personality on the hases of which they are qualified for a number of occupations and that the ability of a person to obtain job satisfaction is a function of his ability to acquire a way of life which offers him the chance to play the roles which he considers appropriate at each level of his development. However, according to Holland's theory the environments in which people live can be characterized by their resemblance to one or more model environments. Holland showed that the pairing of persons and environments leads to several outcomes which could be used to predict their occupational choice, vocational stability and achievement, among others. The theories reviewed have not shown how culture, personality, the environment and the family, among others, determine the occupational opportunities available to men and women. These theories have also jnot explained the impediments to occupational opportunities of women, which is the focus of the study. Furthermore, the theories are foreign based on cultures and must not directly apply to female secondary school teachers in Imo State, thus justifying a need for this study. I Socialization-Related Iqedimends to Occuputional Opportunities of Women Socialization, as defined by Wehmeier (2000), is the process hy which somebody, especially a child learns to behave in a way that is acceptable in the society. According to Wolman, (1973), socialization is the process by which an individual learns the ways, ideas, beliefs, values, patterns and norms of a particular culture and adapts to them Ward .(1980), defined socialization as the process by which people acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable them to participate as effective members of groups and the society. As stated by Ward, socialization often refers to the learning of social roles and the behaviour associated with those roles. It also refers to processes which ' affect present and eventual behaviour of persons. Gender role socialization and expectations affect occupational opportunities of members of societies. Basaw (1992), ind.icated that th.e socialization of women makes them unprepared psychologically and professionally to assume a career. He stated that to most women, because of their socialization experiences, salary considerations arlz unimportant because it is of secondary concern in the traditional fernale learning. I Basaw further stated that women are taught to choose jobs t/?at are easy to I 1 combine with motherhood, that is, jobs which require little commitmerit and training such as teaching and nursing and that in Aost cultures, women are encouraged to focus on finding a mate and to reduce their career and salary achievement in order that they will not threaten men's: position of dominance. In their contribution to the socialization impediments to the: occupational opportunities of women, Jaja and Bnoh (2003), noted thal; the process of socialization through gender stereotyping, conditions both girls and boys to different sets of values, norms, and visions. The authors indicated that the young male child is trained to be domineering,, aggressive and assertive; while the young female child is groomed to become a "lady" or a woman who ultimately aims at becoming an all- sacrificing, subservient daughter, sister, wife and mother. The end result as lamented by the authors is that the average male jealously guards hi!; super-ordinate position over the female, hence men are generally strong at resisting any move to make them relinquish part or whole of their cherished assigned traditional privileges. So in most Nigerian traditions as in most other Afiican countries, it is unheard of to see a woman aspire to great heights in any endeavour. Ijere (1991), advised that it is time when Africans should start to hear that which has been unheard of in matters relating to the position!; and roles of Nigerian women. This is because as indicated by Ijere, 1 1 women's lives are seriously limited by the stifling tradition'al norms that expect them to have minimal education and knowledge' and to aim 29 ultimately at becoming spent by multiple childbirth and self-effacing wifehood and motherhood. Jaja and Emelike (2002), observed that the socialization process of women portrays them as biologically inferior to men, hence the culturally-assigned and acceptable role of women should be reproductive and domestic, while according to the authors the spheres of politics and public life belong to men. Basaw (1992), suggested that one way of viewing gender- * stereotypic characteristics is to see them as the products of tht: social roles men and women are expected to enact. Basaw also showed that women are expected to develop nuturant-expressive characteristics and that the differential role expectations extend to everything men and women do. Consequently, even when women are in the labour force, the society sees them as most suitable for human service jobs like nursing, teaching, social work and domestic work. Basaw hrther stated that women's lower labour force participation and over-rep~esentationin low status, low- paying jobs are the products of their early socialization which steer them into maternity roles. Omole (2002), also found that sex role expectations and cultural norms are among the factors, which impede the occupational: I I opportunities of women. The author stated that these sodially-definedl I I roles which are based on biological differences, direct and knit women's' I occupational opportunities. Mere (1975) indicated that the Igbo culture does not only assign low status to women, but also condi1:ions them to play their roles with minimum manifest conflict. She stated that a woman who neglects or differs from the culturally-assigned duties is termed i~ deviant. In line with the above observation, Ojunta (198'7), noted that culture does not encourage women to aspire as high us their men counterparts because according to the author, women are expected to be indoors to be prepared for marriage and subsequently given out for marriage. Farmer and John (1980), indicated that the expecta1:ion that girls will grow up to be wives and mothers leaves its imprint early in their attitudes and their subsequent occupational choice. The authors added that boys and girls clearly have different socialization experiences that impact on their future labour force participation whereby girls are traine,d to assume maternal roles with traits and attitudes that will enhance their role performance. Farmer and John (1980) reasoned that to the extent that women have developed according to the traditional female norm, they may be suited for subordinate jobs, typically in human services. According to Okeke (2004), there exist socio-cultural and stereotypic influences on the I I i occupational opportunities of women. These include the ;lotion that th:e I 1 place of women is at home so as to take care of the fa!nily, and thh science and technology are not the domain of women. Okeke further observed that women have the capacity to be scientists, bilt the social conditioning and the roles women are expected to play in the society form big hindrances. Peters and Hansen (1977), indicated that the traditional allocation of roles makes it impossible for women to do any regular jot) beyond the immediate vicinity of the home. Similarly, Azikiwe (199:!), observed that the traditional belief that the gods created women for indoor duties and men for all others, is a serious impediment to the occupational opportunities of women. The author also stated that the notion that it is proper for women to stay indoors and improper for them to loiter about impedes their occupational opportunities. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development - I F A D (2000), in marly societies, social and cultural norms limit extra-familial contact between men and women. Also, there is serious restriction on overnight stays of women and their communication with men, which limit their jieedom of association and expression. Omole (2002), indicated that the influence of socialization on women is such that they tend to modify themselves to fit their expected roles rather than modify the roles to fit their needs. Ajor" a (1999), , indicated that the socialization of women in most cultures desent men and not women as the breadwinners and that in such societies, wives are made to surrender their salaries to their husbands. A situation such as this dampens the zeal of wives to aspire higher in their occupations since whatever they earn as salary will go to their husbands. The UNICEF (1998), stated that the consistent identification of self as male or female is an aspect of early childhood socializi~tion,which determines the occupational roles and opportunities of both sexes. The UNICEF (1998) also indicated that girls are wrongly guided by their teachers, female teachers inclusive, to enter low-paying and traditionally- ' female occupations due to teachers stereotyped notion of girls' inability to do well in Science, Mathematics and other related fields. Alumanah (2004), stated that socio-cultural and tradhional factors impinge on full participation of women in public life. Consequently, women are relegated to private and less progressive ventures while men dominate the public life. Liebenstein and Ray (1988), wrote that women are defined in terms of marriage, obedience and submission. According to ,the authors, women in public life who do not fit into these behaviour patterns are called names and may be subjected to serious social sanctions. The author went on to indicate that the traditional allocation of roles makes it impossible for women to do any work beyond the immediate vicinity of, 1 I the home. This, according to the authors, not only advekely affects i women's ability to gain employment in the formal sector, where jobs are usually in urban areas, far fiom home, but also limits their ability to engage in private business that goes beyond a certain geographical range. The United Nations (1995), indicated that the sexual division of labour and expectation prevalent in most societies place women at immediate disadvantage. It mher observed that while boys are trained in technical, commercial and marke-table skills that prepare them For management roles, it is more socially acceptable for girls to be trained in fields which prepare them for marriage and motherhood. Tiisetso (1995), agreed that the socialization of females is still, to a large extent, directed away from the technical fields. Consequently, women lack the education and training necessary for them to take active part in construction work. The author also pointed out ths,.t the absence: of women in most technical fields could be explained by the: cultural beliefs that such jobs may be physically heavy and even rough and are therefore, men's and not women's jobs. According to Peters and Hanser~(1977), the socialization of girls as passive, dependent, weak and as homemakers, retards their occupational opportunities. Also the expectations that girls should stay home, wait, watch, work puzzles and help boys, form barriers to their occupational I I opportunities. Peters and Hansen also added that sex rolei socializal'ion 1 I presents a convincing evidence of the programming of for prescribed roles. Osuala (2004), lamented that gender role socialization makes women to lack personality traits required of successful workers. According to him, women are, therefore, not used to performing management functions and giving orders especially to malt: employees. According to Bamidele (2004), in the Nigerian scciety, a girl is made to know that she does not have equal rights with the boy-child. A girl is through words and deeds, taught that her birth was nothing special to the family and the world in general. A woman having been misinformed fiom her youth according to Bamidele, is expected to continue the trend of male worshipping and female subordination which the woman carries into motherhood and into every other activity of hers. Jaja and Emelike (2002), lamented that the debilitating influence of the socialization of women more often than not, overwhelms them. The result of which is that they often lack the zest, interest, motivation, ambition and vision of their work life. Consequently, women when placed in positions of leadership tend to loose their bearing as they will usually look for men image-makers to take majority of the decisio:ns required of their positions. A review of the available literature presented in this section has shown that the way a woman is brought up as a young girl in the society helps to shape her life and the type of work she will engageI in. What is i not yet clear is whether as a result of such socialization p'rocess, female teachers in Imo State are denied opportunities that are available to them in the world of work. An attempt will, therefore, be made through this study to supply this information. Work Ett vironment Bmdpedimenlrs to Occupardontsl Opportunities 04' Viemen Work environrnent impediments to occupational opportunities of women are those obstacles within the immediate and generd vicinity of' women's work places, which obstruct their entry, acceptability and progress in their occupations. The United Nations (1995), stated that work environment problems of women are manifested in situations where women with relevant educational qualifications who have gained access to entry-level jobs in the formal sector are made to remain in the lower ranks and to concentrate in the women-dominated positions. According to Okorie (2000), in most establishments, women are excluded from development opportunities, professional networks or fields, on the basis of gender, thus depriving them of the needed professional experience and almost ensuring their marginalization and invisibility. Okorie further indicated that most organisations are structured by men and for men. Consequently, most women find these structures foreign and intimidating because of their different cultural training and life experiences. Izuako (1993), and Melamed (1996), indicated that women experience sexual harassment, which impedes their occupational opportunities. Continuing, Melamed (1496), noted that somf: work places could become sexualized with sexual images abounding. The author observed that in male-dominated work environments, women may be singled out for the worst assignment or publicly, belittled, excluded from informal networks and under-evaluated. The United Nations (1995), found that women encounter structural and behavioura.1 dificulties, which impede their vertical mobility. The author further indicated that some of the structural factors that inhibit women's opportunities are reflected in employment rules, regulations and performar~ceevaluation norms. The structures, the author went on, are formulated around the interest of men as employees and employers. Also, the structures are usually unsympathetic and unsupportive of women's beliaviours, roks and styles as employees and as family caretakers. Taken together, the above impediments form what has been referred to as "g1a.s~ceiling", an invisible but impassable barrier that prevents womeil from rising professionally, regardless of their educational attainments. Tiisetso (1995), observed that the attitudes of most employers towards women form barriers to the occupational opportunities of women such that some employers are unwilling to employ women. According to Tiisetso, some employers describe wornen as immobile, pl"ysically weak, vulnerable to strain, requiring comfort and levels of cleanness not permissible in some occupations. Also, some employers claim that women in male-dominated work environments are sources of distraction because of sexual attraction. Melamed (1996), noted that women in male-dominated work places are unlikely to find mentors due to lack of enough women in high positions and that the potential fi:male mentors, when present, have less time available than men because of their struggle for advancement. The author further indicated that potential male mentors are often afraid of sexual distractions and office gcssips. Williams (1985), reported that not only are the wages of mde workers higher than those of the female workers in most cases, but that even for the same job, men receive higher wages than women. According to Jaja and Onoh (2003), in male-dominated work environments, career women are seen as frustrated and conceptualised as persons who can be seen as scapegoats. The authors indicated that most employers of labour see a working mother as exhausted or distracted by her d~mesticchores or problems that she would have little or no energy left for the accomplishment of high productivity in organisations. Consequently, women are denied positions of author-ity in their occupations. Jaja and Onoh further indicated that women suffer from occupatioilal segregation at the work places, and this results to their inability to break through tl~e I I I so-called glass ceiling that separates them from top levdl management ! ! I and professionals. Furthermore, employers claim that the feminine qualities of women are incompatible with business management, hence the reluctance of such employers to accommodate women at high level management positions. The above work place impediments are often hidden behind rules such as rules about height requirements and the ability to work overtime which men can easily comply with more than women. Ajoma (1999), reported that wornen are located in lower level management and are often faced with behavioural discrimination, which obstructs their vertical growth in their occupations. The author attributed this problem to the general belief that women are not as ambitious and as aggressive as men. According to the United Nations (1999), there is a wide gap between wages of men and women and this puts women j.n disadvantaged positions. The United Nations noted that only a small proportion of this gap in earnings could be explained by differences in the levels of education and job experience between males and females. This anomaly, therefore, is created purely on the basis of gender. According to the World Bank (2004), the under-representation of women in workplace-based training and learning for new technology forms a serious obstacle to the advancement of women in their chosen occupations. Women tend to avoid occupations, which involve constant transfer from one location to another because of their roll expectations. i A woman is expected to stay around the family so that s$e can care ftx the husband and children. Thus, if she takes up a jot) that requirm constant transfer, she is quickly reminded that her family should take priority over her employment. The United Nations (1999).. has shown that in most establishments, women are usually placed in non-strategic sectors in personnel and administrative positions rather than in professional and line management jobs, which lead to the top. Puttin (1 985), indicated that women are denied on-the-job training opportunities on the ground that they may be afraid of some industrial equipment, underground jobs and other jobs that are generally considered risky, such as mining and quarring. Deleire and Levy (2001), noted that a job is a bundle of attributes in wages as well as benefits and working conditions, and these affect people's choice of occupations. The authors showed that women avoid risky jobs because of the children who depend on them, as there may be no replacement to their contributions to raising their children. They also observed that during first pregnancy, women are likely to leave physically demanding jobs and may not come back thereafter. In addition, some occupations are not flexible enough to accommodate women who may have need for occasional absence from work for maternity leave or during ill-heath. As reported by Okeke (2004), in the Nigerian Police Force, newly- recruited female employees are required to work for a period ofI five years 1 before they can be pregnant. The researcher's conversation kith a former Air Hostess who lost her job barely one year after she was recruited revealed that some Airlines forbid their female staff from getting pregnant, how much more granting them maternity leave. Thus, certain attributes of some occupations such as lack of safety, flexibility, people- orientedness and pleasant surroundings, among others, impede the occupational opportunities of women. The UNESCO (1 98 I)., stated that women avoid occupations, which are considered to be men's for fear of sexual harassment or the inability of the women to compete with men. It is not clear whether the work environment-related inhibitions to women's occupational opportunities also exist in the teaching profession. This study is intended to identifjr factors within the teaching profession which impede the occupational opportunities of female secondary school teachers in Imo State of Nigeria. Family-Reluted Impediments to Occupatiouzal Opportunities 0f Women Family issues which negatively affect the occupational opportunities of women have dominated the literature for some time. Kenneth (1973), indicated that in some communities, there are fears that women who went out to work would not bear children. This objection, to wives employment, he said, was particularly strong when the employment involved, is under the authority of a man not familiar to their husbands. The men's objection was also extended to any employer who was prepared to employ women. The general view according/to Kenneth is that if a woman is economically empowered, the authority kind control of her husband over her will be threatened. In addition, economic empowerment of a woman may cause her to abscond. In line with the above observation, Izuakor (1993), agreed that most men prefer their wives, even with their professional qualifications, to stay at home rather than engage in paid employment. According 110 Izuakor, the idea behind this is that men believe that their professional wives may compele with them for power and authority. Johnson, Kabuchu and Kayonga (2003), also stated that men do not encourage their wives to work because of the fear that working and enterprisin.g wives would become more powerful than their husbands and that they would be richer or stronger. Johnson, et a1 also noted that the men are afraid that independence derived fiom earning income would encourage women to leave their husbands. According to the author most men believe that their dignity will be threatened if their wives were seen to be providing for the family. The World Bank (2004), reported that in some countries, it is illegal for wives to: travel without permission fiom their husbands cs male relatives; transact business openly; or even to stand close to men. Also in some other countries, the law requires females to be, accompanied i I by male guardians if they must travel. The World Bank furtber stated thct mobility constraints can and do clearly disadvantage womeA in the labour market. The home environment plays a major role in women's career prospects. Melamed, (1 996)' stated that regardless of equal opportunities legislation, marital status and parenthood interfere with women's progress and employers are oRen reluctant to offer jobs to or promote women due to the high likelihood of career interruption. Also, parenthood reduces work experience through career interruption and this lessens career success of women. According to White and Cooper (1995), in Melamad (1996) the career path of women to the top positions is characterized by delayed marriage, family life and small number of children. These things according to the authors facilitate men's career success because they provide supportive environment needed to cope with Ihe tense and stressful work environment. In contrast, they retard women's career success. The World Bank (2004)' reported that in some countries, preservation of family reputation is to a great extent associated with the behaviour of its women. Thus, the ability of males in the family lo protect their female relatives goes a long way to preserve the family honor. Consequently, some countries have incorporated this concept inlo laws that restrict women's movement or affect their accountability lo their husbands or male guardians. The World Bank hrther indicated that in the Middle, East and ! North Africa -MENA, laws stipulate that a wife must obtain th.e husband's permission to work and travel. It reported a l997/98 survey in Morocco, where 85 per cent of the women said that they needed the permission of their husbands or guardians to leave the house. In that study, 85 per cent of the men in MENA stated that they would tolerate a wife's employment as long as it was temporary, in times of need, but that once her employment was no longer necessary, the woman should stop working and stay at home. These views are shared by most men in other parts of the world. The problems of combining child-care and paid employment as indicated by Basaw (1992)' create barriers to women's increased labour force participation. The author stated that women with children have less time available than men and women without children for overtime and extra-professional activities. Consequently, a greater number of professional women are childless than it is true of professional men and professional women are less likely to be married than profkssional men. and non-professional women. Basaw (1992), reported that women with. domestic responsibilities, especially child-care concerns are at marked disadvantage in professional career. The author stated that besides. having limitations on their time for extra-professional activities, suchi I women also bear the burden of having to arrange their work life around I i i the availability of childcare. Also, professional women withifamilies ma$ 1 I be less mobile than men with families or women without dmilies, since:I wives are more likely to move with their husbands when they are: transferred than husbands moving wl.th their wives when they m: transferred. Thus, geographical constraints or constant relocation;^ contribute to the status and salary differences between pro5essional men and women. Women as stated by Carter and Cannon (1992), experience conflict with family members when they get into private or public employmenl:. The authors indicated that the problems are related to the conflicting roles " of wife, mother and worker, added to the attitude held by some families which may prove problematic to many career women. These the authors noted, tend to undermine the confidence and the credibility of the enterprising women. Riley (1997), indicated that in Africa, a woman's active participation in economic activities is regarded as a sign of the husband's inability to earn enough to cater for the family. The author maintained that women's attachment to the family a]ld household responsibilities make it difficult for them to engage in meaningful occupation. Riley further stated that nearly all women in every society have children and they must fit any business or public: employment around the family roles. Chitra (2000)' added that the clash of family roles with I entrepreneurial obligations, use of a woman's income1 as a fami& 1, property which must be used to meet family or commllnity financiikl obligations and men's interference and dominace in decision-making combine to impede occupational opportunities of women. The World Bank (1999), stated that African women perform about 90 per cent of the work of processing food crops and fetching of household water and firewood; 80 per cent of food storage and transportation of food &om the farm to the village, plus the work of harvesting and marketing of the harvested food items. All these compete for women's time thereby constituting impediments to their oc~upation~al opportunities. Women are caught between the need to meet up with the demands of public life and the need to find identity as wives, mothers and women (Peters and Hansen, 1977). The author noted that it is only a super woman who could meet the demands of organising her time, managing her household, and giving adequate attention to the family and occupational activities. Oganwu (19916)~stated that men. see women's advancement in their occupations as an attack on their established social roles. Consequently, they frustrate the efforts of their enterprising wives, because they are afraid of loosing control over their wives when they I I succeed in their occupations (Okoro, 1993). i 1 According to Carter and Cannon (1992), men can ar,d1 do receivd a i I great deal of unpaid occupational and domestic suppbrt from their contributing wives. Similarly Ndu (1994), noted that wornen are always ready to assist their husbands to succeed. In contrast, Ndu noted that women do not receive such help from their husbands. Instead, their husbands expect them to make the role of wives and mothm dominant, the result of which is the retardatiorl of the women's occupational opportunities. The United Nations (1995), noted that family responsibilities are undertaken mainly by women. It found that in most countries, married women, especially those with young children, are ' denied the opportunity to receive on-the-job training which men receive and that even in corporations, employers are often reluctant to send women to expensive management training in the belief that investment on women may be less profitable since they may decilde to leave employment after marriage. Ajoma (1999), observed that marriage impedes occupationall opportunities of wonlen. She stated that after graduation from primary and secondary education, the presence of a husband, his perception and. belief about which job is most suitable for a wife, affixt women's occupational choice. According to the United Nations (1999)' women oiten combine paid employment with other economic activities in order to increase their: I I income. Segal and Lea (1992), stated that to have a family ban! destroy ai ! ! woman's hope for senior management position where the e~h~lo~erdoes not provide the opportunity for re-employment or a guarantee that a job at the same level would be available to the woman when she rzturns after a. career break. The authors further stated that young mothers are unable to give full attention to their occupations as fathers, because they may not be: able to afford the quality of child-care they would wish to have. The responsibilities of women in the homes are enormous and do constitute obstacles to their occupational opportunities. An examination of the hindrances to occupational opportunities of female secondary school teachers is considered by this researcher as worthwhile. Personality-Re 1uted Zmpedim ents to Occupational Opportunities o, f Women According to Wolman (1973), personality is the pattern of traits characterizing an individual person. It is any psychological characteristic: of a person, including dispositions to perceive different situations similarly and to react consistently despite changing val-ues, abilities, defenses and aspects of temperament, among others. Tijsetso (1995), reported that the marginalization of women in some occupa~ionscould be explained by the prevailing belief by women, that technical jobs are physically heavy and even rough and therefore they are men's and not women's jobs. The author indicated that women are usually slow and therefore not good enough for jobs, which entail meeting set time target. ;I I I I Basaw (1992), observed that women tend to be mdre concerneh i with helping others and less concerned with prestige or status factors i:n their career decisions. Consequently, women are more motivated than men to choose jobs in the service sectors, which typically a.re low-status and low-paying. Continuing, Basaw noted that most women are not achievement- oriented. They have high fear of success and they lack self- confidence, implying that women underestimate their ability which may lead to lowered aspiration and settling for jobs and salaries beneath their abilities. The author concluded that the female's characteristics which hinder their effective performance in male-dominated occupations include: vulnerability, emotionality and soft-spokenness. World Bank(2003), stated that women are seen as frail, delicate and as symbols of cleanness. The author further indicated that women are immobile, physically weak, vulnerable to strain, needing comfort and levels of cleanness which are not permissible in most vocational and technical occupations. Similarly Nafziger (1988), reported that women are viewed as naturally weaker, more emotional, less socially adept and less rational when compared with men. These views according to the a.uthor have been used not only to limit competition between men and women at work places but also in some instances to justify women's restrictions to the ' I I household. The UNESCO (1981), stated that majority of theI women in I ! public employment fail to assert themselves and demonstrate the fact that they can achieve as much as the men. Carter and Cannon (1992), indicated that most married women regard themselves as swond wage earners in their families who are not under pressure. They believe that since they are not the family head, it is not their responsibility to provide for it. The authors further stated that most working women are satisfied with their husband's achievements. Consequently, the attitudes of such women towards their occupation are usually that of "what I would do depends on my husband". Based on the above attitude the authors " lamented, women abdicate their responsibilities to men. Ijere (1991), indicated that generally, working wornen do not comport themselves properly. Some of them are rude, arrogant and may lack respect for their husbands and other men. Some would even +, abandon their household responsibilities to their husbands and house helps and these often result to conflict in the family. According to Ndu (1994), some working women adopt the same managerial behaviour or style in the office and at home. This group of women, the author noted tends to forget that the environments dif'fer. Ndu commented that although some women may be managers in their different places of work, that at home, they are mere commissioners for home affairs who are responsible to their husbands who are the heads of the home state. The 1 author finally observed that the tendency of working womgnI to lord it 1 1 I over their husbands leads to conflict. Similarly, the united Nations (1998)' noted that women in management positions tend. to acquire masculine tendencies to ensure survival in areas considered as men's province. Segal and Lea (1992), noted with dismay that most women do not set their goals high enough. The authors further noted that even in the primary and post-primary schools where women are in the majority, more men than women are often the head teachers. Continuing, Segal and Lea stated that women suffer from lack of confidence and self-esteem, and ', that they tend to find appraisal more stressful than men. Furthermore:, women prefer to be in the occupations where they are less likely to be in positions of authority because they are afraid that male subordinates will not cooperate with them. Similarly Ajorrla (1 999), indicated that women's belief in their ability reduce their aspiration to occupations considered to be the exclusive reserve of men. Such areas include politics, science and technology, among others. The author also stated that women believe that to be a successful leader, one must be an extraordinary or supper woman. Larwood and Wood (1977), observed that women whose self- concepts are congruent with feminine stereotypes tend to choose feminine roles such as serving, caring, and cooking, among others, and often behave as if they were relatively incompetent. ! 4 Women tend to be passive and this in turn erodes their selfT I I confidence, causes depression and a general sense of worthlessnessl They are in the habit of nagging and may be unable to take the necessary disciplinary measures against erring staff. Women are fragile, dependent and pleasure-seeking. They lack physical strength and are easily scared. They hesitate to engage in certain occupations, especially those, which involve shooting, shedding of blood and working alone in a forest. The above personality-related impediments no doubt reduce the chances open to women in many occupations. How they also affect female secondary school teachers in Imo State needs to be investigated and constitutes a focus of this study. Discrimination-Related Impediments to Occupational Opportunities of Women Jaja and Onoh (2003), viewed discrimination as the differential treatment of persons who belong to a particular class in the society. C Similarly they noted that discrimination against women is any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of gender which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of power by women. Aiyegbemi (2004), stated that a nation's constitution is the legal document, which regulates the activities and the lives of the citizens and other nationals resident in the country. He regretted that those to be governed by the constitution are often not involved in its implementation. Consequently, provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women have not been favourably implemented by most employers with respect to the appointment of women in the public service of Nigeria.. The author indicated that women are considered less suitable by these employers for certain public positions and that for some positions, single parent or unmarried women are denied appointment while men in the same conditions are not gi~en the same treatment. Ijere (1991) indicated that many policy makers imd community leaders believe that women are good only as baby milkers and farm workers. As a result, according to the author, a woman politics‘ campaigner is called names, and a woman manageress is avoided. Azikiwe (1992), stated that women are unable to receive credits in their own names due to the impression that they may not be able to pay back 3s well as their inability to produce collateral when they go to borrow from financial institutions. The banks, for example, will often ask whj, is the husbimd not borrowing instead of the wife? This is because the banks tend to underestimate wornen's potentials to repay loans as busincss persons. Jaja and Emelike (2002), stated that women are not offered eleclive positions in larger numbers and they may be denied equal educational opportunities with their male counterparts. Also women are not exposed I 1 I to technical innovations and the hndamentals of ;ntrepreneurship. Successful male employees or business owners have whmen all around them. Some of these women are even willing to be one out of the severiil wives of a man in order to be identified with him. This is not true of a successful woman because, as reported by Ndu (1994), men avoid successful women either because they are too rich to be under a man or simply that they cannot make good housewives. World Bank (2003), indicated that state policies in some countries have sometimes given negative signals or have supported practices that . have driven .women out of the labour force. Thus, many employers ha\le actively used discriminatory policies to employ men instead of women particularly in some occupations and during times of unemployment, in view of traditionally assigned roles of men as heads of the households. Despite the fact that women have gained appreciable qualification in almost every discipline, Izuakor (1 993), reported that women experience greater difficulty than men in finding suitable employment. In the United States in 1973, Melamed stated, that the rate of unemployment among women engineers and scientists with Ph.D wiis four times higher than that of men (National Science Fourtdation, 1975). This goes to confirm the experience of female job seekers vrho despite the fact that they have the same qualification with their malt: counterparts, discover that preference is given to the men than the womkn. Melamed I (1996), also noted that women are still segregated against in employmeat even when they account for a much smaller proportion of scientific workers, engineers, jurists, economists, architects and other specialist administrators and managers. She observed that more women are accepted in research than in production or in management, ir. specialist or advisory posts rather than in positions of authority and in public more than in the private sectors. Izuako (1993), gave the percentage of women in some professions as follows - only one per cent of Engineers, three per cent of Surgeons, six per cent of Surveyors, eight per cent of Architects . and I0 per cent of Chartered Accountants. Ajoma (1999), stated that taxation laws and practices discriminate against women in Nigeria. She observed that while men claim all the possible allowances due to them, women virtually claim nothing. Also, married women in the civil service still do not get equal leave allowance!; with married men. A case in point as stated by Ajoma is the 2450.00 (Fifty Naira) marriage allowance granted to men which women are denied of. The author noted that such discriminatory laws widen the gap between the net pay of men and women, thereby putting women at disadvantaged positions financially. Anya (2003), indicated that the colonial government opposed the employment of women in the civil service. He argued that the non- employment of women in the civil service has some economic implications for them and has continued to give men advantage over women. Anya also indicated that the Nigerian constitution continues to act as an impediment to women participation in politics. For instance, a married woman is faced with the problem of constituency, especially if she is married outside her locality or state of origin. A woman cannot claim the same state of origin with her husband, and sometimes, when she goes back to her own state, she is seen as a non-indigene. The author cited as an example the rejection of the appointment of Dr. (Mrs) Awolowo - .Dosunmu as an Ambassador representing Lagos and that of the recent appointment of Mrs Okonjo - Iweala as Finance Minister representing Abia State. Aiyegbemi (2004), stated that discrimination persists against women in political and public life arid that women were expected to resign their appointments on marriage: or during pregnancy until 1951. They were required by the Colonial Government to leave the service entirely on their second pregnancy. Okorie (2000), regretted that th.ere is a considerable evidence of discrimination against women in most work places. The author added that employers justified this on the ground of lower productivity, higher absenteeism and turnover of women. According t13 Okorie, the assumption by policy-makers that men, not women ' are the mhn I breadwinners implies that where there is higher unemployment, jobs will be given to men before women. On its part, the World Bank (199,4), found that because of occupational discrimination, women we channeled into less productive and less remunerative segments of the labour marke:t and that parents in developing countries are less likely to send their daughters to school than their sons. Lower educational attainment of women places, them at a disadvantage in the labour market. Hence Alumanah (2004), indicated that women are discriminated against in the ranks of powzr, policy and decision-making and they remain largely outside the realms of power and decision-making in government. Also in politics, as noted in th.e Commonwealth Reference Book (1999/2000), women are denied equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making thereby creating imbalance in government and administration. The United Nations (1999), noted that a distinction is usually made between two different forms of occupational segregation: one, the "horizontal segrega-tion", which refers to the distribution of men and women across occupations (e.g women as nurses and men as engineers); while the second, termed "vertical segregation" refers to the distributicm of men and women in the job hierarchy in relation to status within an occupation as production workers versus production supervisors. These forms of segregation, the author stated, vary by region, which implies that social, historical and cultural factors might be important for the determination of the extent of occupational segregation by sex. Nigerian women like women all over the world continue to face discrimination which limit their occupational opportunities. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against women adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 19'79 and ratified by Nigeria in 1985 stipulates that women shall have equal rights as men with regard to employment opportunities and promotions. The reality is that in Nigeria, women are yet to enjoy eqyal rights with men in the labour market due to biases against their employment in most branches of the economy. The Federal Government has been implicated in the discriminatory practices against women. According to the Federal Office of Statistics as reported by Jaja and Onoh (2002), in the year 1995, the Federal Government employed a total of 47,908 women which represented only 24 per cent of the total workforce. The authors further stated that women are penalised world-wide because of their sex as manifested in women's under-representation in the professions such as medicine, academic teaching, engineering, architecture and law. Is it also possible that in Nigeria, Secondary School female teachers are denied the opportunities they are qualified for just because they are women? Answer to this question will be provided in this study. In many societies, religious and traditional practices determine the role of women (Anya, 2003). These religions and traditions consider ii a taboo for a woman to be a head over a man. Mosi women have internalised this practice and believe that politics is reswved for me:n. However, women who go into politics are often labeled as rebels and prostitutes. Similarly, the World Bank (2004), lamented that labour laws in some regions which exist in one form or the other discourage women from working and bars employers fiom employing them. Continuing, the World Bank stated that in some Islamic countries, women are not allowed to hold posts in ministries such as Interior, Civil Protection, Defense and National Security. In some other communities, it is prohibited under any circumstances to integrate women with men in places 0.f work. These prohibitions according to the World Bank make it difficult for women to work in some sectors and to attain higher levels of management. In l.he year 1985, a Royal Decree prevented Saudi Arabian women from working in all spheres except in female schools or in the hospitals as nurses. Restrictions on hours of working also impede occupational opportunities of women. World Bank (2003), reported that restrictions on women working at night exists in most Islamic communities. In Libyzl for example, according to the author, women are not allowed to work more than the normal 48 hours a week including overtime. The author stated that restriction on hours of work was introduced under the pretext of protecting women's health and in recognition of their rt:sponsibilities as wives and mothers. Ajoma (19991, observed that with some religious groups, women , are not supposed to be educated above a given level. The reason for this according to the author, is the fear that schooling exposes women undulqr, thereby posing a theat to their chastity. The author reported that low participation of women in public workforce is caused by religious practices, especially Islam. For example, in Northern Nigeria, parenls who sent their daughters to school often prefer Islamic education, which has little or no relevance to most public employment. A large proportion of Muslim women in the Northern Nigeria are put in seclusion (Zack and William, 1985). The author reported that when the women are allowed to come out, they are channeled into the farms, where they are not supposed to get in contact with men, except close male relatives. The authors further stated that with this practic,?, women who trade are not allowed to carry their wares to the market for I I fear that they will be seen by other men. Instead, they front their teenage girls and boys to hawk their goods for them. Furthermore, the Islamic religion demands that women's dressing should be such that every part of the body must be covered up. Thus, restriction of movement and particular mode of dressing combine to impede the occupational opportunities of women. Related Empirical Studies Quite a few empirical studies have been found to relate to the topic of the present research work. ~hesestudies, however, border on women .-issues. Omole (2002), conducted a study on the Factors Responsible for Women's Enrolment Pattern in Technical Education Trogramme in Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to determine ways in which socio- cultural and socio-economic factors affect women's enrolment in technical programmes in colleges of education. He found that the low status accorded to women in every society makes them to underestimate their abilities and that women are over-burdened with family responsibilities which interfere with their educational aspirations. Omole also found that female students tend to drift towards the areas of study regarded as female courses and so they shy away from science and technical courses. He Mher found that the general fiagile nature of women leads to their inability to cope with stress-oriented occupations like blacksmithing, bricklaying and climbing of roof tops. This study is related to the present research work because the findings reflect some purposes of the current study. Deleire and Levy (2001), conducted a research on Gender, Occupation, Choice and the Risk of Death at Work. The major purpose of the study was to determine why men and women have different preferences for job attributes even in the absence of discrimination. The researchers found that because of segregation of occupations by sex, women are denied access into certain occupations. The reason given :For this action is that such occupations are unsuitable for women and that . women avo.id risky and physically demanding jobs. Deleire and Levy also found that religions and traditions specifL the expected roles of women and these limit their career choices. The study by Deleire and Levy is related to this study because it is interested in those factors, which affect the occupational choice of women. lzuakor (1 993), studied the motivation, problems aild opportunities of women professionals in paid employment. The major purpose of the study was to determine the peculiar problems women professionals encounter in paid employment and the extent to which the policies of organisations help to solve them. lzuakor found that: (1) geographical mobility contributes to the limited number of women professionals in top positions in paid employment. (2) women professionals were found to be fewer in nurn:ber I 1 1 i at top administrative positions than their male counterparts. (3) wo&en professionals in paid employment have equal opportunities with their male counterparts and (4) low or high compensation was not responsible for the over-representation of women in some professions such as teaching and nursing. Izuakor's study is related to the present study because it is interested in the problems women professionals encounter in paid employment. Ajoma (1999), conducted a study on Determining the Constraints in and Improving on Women's Participation in Decision-making in Ojiu . Local Government Area of Benue State. The purpose of the study was .to determine the constraints on women's paticipation in decision-making. The study revealed that the factors which militate against women's participation in decision-making are cultural and traditional taboos aild beliefs about women; feelings of inferiority complex cm the part of women; multiple functions in the family and men's domineering behaviours which result to negotiating women's rights away. Ajoma also found that low level of education makes it difficult for women to rise to executive positions. This study is related to the present study because it is interested in the factors, which hinder the opportunities of women to rise to executive positions, among others. Okoye (1998), conducted a research on the Administrative and I Instructional Strategies for Increasing the Enrolment and Retention of Females in Technical Programmes in Nigeria. The major purpose of the study was to identify factors responsible for low enrolment of women in Technical College programmes. The study revealed that: cultural role expectations of women hinder their aspirations, preferences and choice of occupations; the under-representation of women in Technical Education programme is caused by lack of confidence on the part of women. This study is related to the present one because it is concerned with factors responsible for low enrolment of women in technically- oriented occupations. Agholor 4 1993), studied the Factors Associated with the Uncler- representation of Women in Science and Technology. The major purpose of the study was to determine the factors associated with the gap betwcen men and women in Science and Technology. The study revealed the following: 1. Societal role expectations are the major impediments which women face when decisions on career choice are to be made. 2. Teachers:-suppress the participation of girls in science classes by asking boys more questions than the girls and by involving boys more in teacher-student demonstration activities. 3. Some unwritten discriminatory mechanisms are instituted into the employment interviews and selection processes,;I which debar a 1 number of women from being employed a's Science and Technology teachers. 4. African girls perceive their chances of success in Science and Technology classes to be low. Agholor's study is related to the present study because it is interested in the factors responsible for fewer number of women than men in Science and Technology occupations. Summary of Related Literature The literature review showed that problems of women are strong issues which have attracted attention all over the world particularly sinc.e the year 1792, when Mary Wollstonecraft challenged the idea that women exist only to satis@ men and proposed that men and women should be treated equally in every aspect of life. The review of literature also showed that: segregation of labour by sex assigns to women responsibilities and tasks related to the care and nurture of the family; These responsibilities add to the workload of women and often form obstacles to their getting into occupations, which attract higher pay; the responsibilities and workloads of women have led to a number of myths which have impeded the occupational opportunities of women. With regard to socialization-related impediments, the authors reviewed agreed that the socialization experiences of ;omen tend io I I make them unprepared psychologically and professionally to assume' a career since in their views, salary considerations shoulcl not be the primary concern of a woman. Based on the literature reviewed, the authors are in agreement that some work environments form impediments to occupational opportunities of women. Such that in male-dominated work environments for example, women are sexually harassed and they may be seen as errants by men who believe that such occupations are the exclusive reserve of men.. Furthermore,, the authors agreed that in male-dominated worls environments, women are faced with invisible but impassable barriers which retard their upward vertical movement. The authors also agreed that the general fragile nature of women makes them unsuitable for certain occupations. On family-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women, the authors agreed that most men object to their wives being employed, especially if such employment will warrant constant travels and close association with men. The authors Wher agreed that the burden of bearing and rearing of children retard occupational opportunities of women. On the personality-related impediments, the authors are of the I opinion that women tend to be passive, which resuds to lack pf i I i I confidence in themselves. Also, most professional women lack propx comportment because they tend to be unnecessarily autocratic at their places of work and even at home when they are in positions of authority. There was also a consensus among the authors that ~eligionsand traditions impede occupational opportunities of women because they determine the roles which women should play. In some societies, the dressing modes of women are too clumsy to permit them to engage in Science and Technological occupations. It was also observed that in . some societies, religious practices demand that men and women should not be integrated in places of work under any circumstance. Although the summary above has shown that women do not have equal occupational opportunities with men due to cultural imd religious practices, the literature available did not confirm the existence of' impediments to women's occupational opportunities among female secondary school teachers in general and those in Imo State in particular, thus justifLing the need for this study. CHAPTER HHI METHODOLOGY This chapter describes the procedures used for the study. These are the design of the study, the area of the study, the population of the stud,y, sample and sampling technique and the instrument for data collection. The procedure also contains information on the validity and reliability of the instrument, method of data collection and method of data analysis. Design of th.e Studj) The study employed a survey research design. A survey design was considered appropriate because the study would ascertain the opinions of female teachers on the impediments to occupational opportunities of women. According to Osuala (2001) a survey research design is about people, their attitudes, opinions motivation and other characteristics. Also through surveys, researchers identie present conditions, prevailing needs as well as provide information on which sound decisions are based. Area of the Study The study covers all the secondary schools in Imo State. There axe 298 secondary schools in Imo State and these are distributed within the three Education zones of the state which incidentally coirespond to the three senatorial zones in Imo State namely: Okigwe, Orlu and Owerri. Female secondary school teachers were chosen for the study because it was reasoned that they are literate enough to respond to the questionnaire. Populdon of the Study The population of the study was made up of 3,201 female secondary school teachers drawn from the public schools in the three senatorial zones in Imo State. There are 408 female secondary school teachers in 'Okigwe senatorial zone, 524 in Orlu and 2269 in Owerri senatorial zones. Table 1 shows the distribution of the teachers in the three sensrtorial zones of Imo State. Distribuiion of Female Secorodary School Teachers in the Tliree Saliaatorial Zones in Imo State I Zones I Number of Schools / Number of ~eachersJ Oltigwe Senatorial Zone 74 408 Orlu Senatorial Zone 72 5 24 Owerri Senatorial Zone 152 2,269 Total 298 3,201 Source: State School Management Board, Imo State (200412005). Sample and Sampling Techniqae The sample for the study consists of 695 respondents drawn from I the 3201 female secondary school teachers in Imo State. i, I Using the senatorial zones as strata, the Tuckman's (1972), formula was applied to determine the sample size for the study as follows: N= (~le)~(p)( 1 -p) where : W= Sample size Z= Standard score corresponding to a given confidence level e.g. for this study with 95% confidence level, Z= 1.96. e = Sampling error, for this study == 0.05 p = Proportion of subjects in a given zone being considered. e.g. Owerri Zone I - p = proportion of subjects in other zones not being considered. e.g. Orlu and Okigwe. The relevant calculations for the determination of the sample size are shown in Appendix A. The sample size for each zone: Okigwe 169; Orlu 209; and Owerri 317; was selected from the list of teachers in each zone, using the simple random sampling procedure. Instrument for Data Collection The questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire (Appendix F) was made up of seven sections. Section A was used to collect information about age, location and ma::ital status of i the respondents. It contains items 1 to 3. Section B contains items related to research question one, which is on the socializ~~ion- related The questionnaire was subjected to face validarion by threc: lecturers in the Department of Vocational Teacher Education University of Nigeria Nsuklta. Their comments and suggestions on the items in thc questionnaire were reflected in the final copy of the instrument. Rekrirability ofthe I~s&ume.n8 The internal consistency of the instrument was determined usin15 the Split-half reliability procedure. The questionnaire was administered on 20 female secondary school teachers in Nsukka who were not included in the sample for the study. This ensured that the subjects used for establishing the reliability of the instrument shared the same characteristics as those to be used for the actual study. The responses of the subjects on the odd-numberd items werl: correlated to the responses of the subjects on the even numbered items to ascertain the reliability of the entire instrument. The Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was used to calculate the correlation coefficient. It yielded a reliability coefficient of -85. Method of Dada Collection The questionnaire for the study was administered by six research assistants who were hired and trained for that purpose by the researcher. Two research assistants were used to collect data in e$ch zone. Thz names and school locations of the respondents were sppplied to th2 I research assistants who were given letters of introduction fix the principal of each school to acquaint them with the purpose of the study and to seek their assistance in the data collection exercise. The respondents were allowed four weeks within which the research assistants collected all completed copies of the instrument. Six hundred and ninety-five copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents as follows: Okigwe Senatorial Zone: 169 copies Orlu Senatorial Zone: 209 copies Owerri Senatorial Zone: 3 17 copies Out of this number, a total of 526 (75.68%) copies were returned; and this is what was used for data analysis. Methods of Data Analysis Data collected from the respondents were analysed using the mean to answer the research questions and the null hypotheses were tested with the t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at .05 level of significance. According to Cozby (1992), the t-test is straight-forward test of significance. The means of items in sections B to G of the questionnaire were used to answer the research questions. Any item with a mean of 3.50 or over was regarded as an impediment to occupational opportunities of women. Items with means of 2.50 - 3.49 were taken to have attracted the undecided response, while items with means of 2.40 or less were not seen as impediments to women's occupational opporhmities. The t-test for independent If the calculated t-value at .05 level sf significance is equal to or more than the critical t-value for the given degrees of freed~m,the null hypothesis is rejectzd. But if the calculated t-value is less than the critical value, the null hypothesis should be accepted. CHAPTER l/V PRIESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA This chapter presented and analysed the data generated in the study. itescorch Question One What are the socialization-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female seclmdary school tezchers in Imo State? -- - Item Statements Remarks Early learning of women that career women do not make good housewives retards their occupational opportunities. - Women's early learning that certain occupations Agree are for men and not for women is an impediment to their occupational opportunities. - Teaching women early in life to aim more at Agree getting married than to prepare for a career is an impediment to their occupational opportunities. Women's early learning that a woman should not aspire to be head over a man is an impediment to their occupational opportunities. Teaching women early in life to avoid close Undecided contact with male non-relatives retards their occupational opportunities. Women's early learning that the place of a Agree woman is at home retards their occupational omortunities. 75 10 Teaching women early in life that a man not a 3.50 Agree 1 I woman is the bread winner retards their occupational opportunities. 11 Women's early learning that they live to satisfy 3.19 Undecided I I the desires of a man retards their occupational I opportunities. 12 Women's early learning that career women do 2.82 Undecided not bear children retards their occupational I I otmortunities. to be more concerned with 3.24 Undecided domestic chores than to be employed outside for payment retards their occupational 3.32 The analysis in Table 2 shows that five out of 10 item statements received mean ratings equal to or above the cut-off point of 3.50. The mean ratings of these items are: item 5 - 3.75; item 6 - 3.fi0; item 7 - 3.78; item 9--3.50 and item 10 - 3.50. However the other five items received mean scores of 2.50 - 3.49. The items are: item 4-3.06; item 8- 2.86; item 11-3.19; item 12-2.82 and item 13-3.24. Therefore, the women regard the item statements in items 5,6,7,9 and 10 as :impediments to their occupational opportunities whilz, the women were undecided on items 4,8,ll,l2, and 13. Research Question Two What are the work environment-related impe,diments to occupational opportunities of women? I I The answer to this research question is presented in ~ahe3. Mean Ratings of Respondenis on Work EnvironmenCrelated Ymperliments to Occuprutiond Qppo~tuniesof Women SIN Item Statements 14 Sexual harassment of women impediment to women's occupational opportunities. (3ccupations which warrant climbing or the 1Jse of heavy equipment may be avoided by ---1women. 1Women are often looked down uo-iuorkers and this makes it difficult for them ( 1 to be promoted as necessary. The exclusion of women by men from 3.50 professional networks is an impediment to , their occupational opportunities. The inability of men to accomn~odatewomen 3.58 Agree in male-dominated occupations retards women's occupational opportun-ities. Women often lack mentor in male-dominated 3.15 Undecided work environments -- Constant geographical mobility associated 3.83 Agree with some occupations makes it difficult for women to get into such occupations. -- Grand Mean 1 3.53 1 I The analysis in Table 3 shows that items l4,l5,l7,l8 and 20 received mean scores of 3.50, 4.09, 3.50, 3.58 and 3.83. By this result, it could be concluded that the women agree that these item statements constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities. On the other hand, the other two items, 16 and 19, received mean score:; of 3.1 0 and 3.1 5, showing that the women were undecided on the items as stated. Research Quesdiow Three What are the family-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women? The data required lor the answer of this research question are in Table 4.. Table 4 M/!enn Radings ofRespcs8aderods sa FamJly-rckm'ed Impediments The tendency of women to vith the consent of their husbands retards their ~clcupaaiionralopportunities. -- Xestricting women's choice to occupations which 3.57 Agree ire very- close to their--+ homes retards their 1 / ~ccupationalopportunities. inability to take certain decisions about her 3.50-I--w Agree ~ccu~a&nindependent of family members I 1 retards a woman's occupational Husbands fear of loosing independent wives impedes women's I 1 occupational opportunities. Women's attachment to responsibilities is an impediment to their occupational opportunities. Men's inability to appreciate the efforts of their 3.68 Agree enterprising wives dampens women's spirits to 1 I aspire higher in their occupations.- Denying married women, especially those young children the opportunity for on-the-job training is an impediment to their occupational opportunities. To have a family can retard a women's hope for a management position. Name-calling by members of the family can reduce the enthusiasm of a woman to aspire / 1 1 higher in her occupation. I -l--A 1 30 1 Child-bearing and caring responsibilities impede 1 31z\ opportunities of women. medlrusbands to assist their wives with household tasks is an impediment to I I occu~ationalomortunities of women. I I The analysis in Table 4 shows 'that seven out of 11 items under family-related impediments received mean responses which are equal to or above the cut-off point of 3.50. These items are: item 21-3.93; iten] 22-3.57; item 23- 3.50; item 25-3.51; item 26-3.68; item 27-3.72 and item 31-3.63. This means that the women regard these item statements as impediments to their occupational opportunities. However, item statements in items 24, 28, 29 and 30 received undecided Tesponses with mean scores of 3.33, 3.14, 3.23 and 3.35, respectively. Therefore, it could be stated that the women feel lincertain that these ii:ems constitutz impediments to their occupational opportunities. Research Question Few What are the personality-related impediments to occupationd opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary schoc~l teachers in Imo State? The data presented in Table 5 are used to answer this research question. GfN Item Statement - 52 The fragile nature of women makes it difficult for them to engage in physically-oriented occupations. - 13 Women's belief that certain occupations are for men impedes their occupational - opportunities. 34 Women's lack of confidence in themselves Agree retards their occupational opportunities. 1 35 Women in positions of authority exhibit Agree autocratic tendencies and this retards their occupational opportunities. 36 The fear of being head over men retards Undecided women's aspiration to managerial positions in occu~ationswhere thev are likelv to be head. 37 1 Women are easily scared, so they avoid Agree ( occupations such as shooting and security I work thus limiting their otmortunities. 38 1 Women lack self-esteem and this results to Undecided 1 poor performance during appraisal and this opportunities. leadership qualities necessary to Undecided I discipline erring staff and this affects their occupational opportunities. 40 The pleasure-seeking tendencies of women undecided - retards their occupational opportunities. - 41 The inability of women to assert themselves Agree makes them to behave as if they are incompetent when working with men, thus reducing their occupational opportunities. Grsawd Mean I I The result presented in Table 5 shows that items 32,i 33, 34, 35, 3.7, 1 1 and 41 had mean ratings that were equal to or above the ht-off point of r I 3.50. However, items 36,38,39 and 40 had mean scores af between 2.49 and 3.49. This means that six out: of 10 items were regarded as impediments by the female secondary r;chool teachers in Imo State, while the women were unsure that the other four items constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities. Research Question Five What are the discrimination-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by the female seccmdary school teachers in Imo State? Data needed to answer this research question are in Tilble 6. Table 6 Mean Ratings of Respondents on Discrimination-Related Impediments S Item Statements Remarks 1 42 Because of Agree i may be occupations. 43 1 Most parents are unwilling to educate their 1 3.88 Agree 1 female children and this-retards women's 1 occupational opportunities. 44 Most financial institutions do not allow 3.50 Agree I women to receive credit in their own names I because they are afraid that they may not be able to pay back. 1 45 Successful women are usually not recognised 2.87 Undecided I in the society as their male counterparts and ( I I this discourages women's zeal to aspire 1 ,I in their occupations. The belief in most societies that women are 3.511 Agree not suitable for some occupation retards----I In most societies, some state policies support 3.69 Agree I discriminatory practices against women. 1 I Teachers, female teachers inclusive suppress 2.77 Undecided the participation of girls in science classes and this retards women's occupational opportunities. Because of gender-discrimination, men may -+I 3.16 Undecided be promoted to higher positions in preference to women. Grand Mean The analysis in Table 6 shows that five out of eight items had mearl scores equal to or above the cut-off point of 3.50, meaning ihat these item statements were considered by the women as impediments to their occupational opportunities. On the other hand, the remaining three item:; had mean ratings of between 2.49 - 3.49. By this analysis, it could be stated that the women were unsure that these item statements constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities. Resetrrch Question 6 What are the religious-related impediments to occupationa.1 opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Imo State. The data in Table 7 provide answer to this research question. Mean Ratings oj' 13'esp~ndenlson Religious Related-ImlwdimenIts to Occuplionab Opportunities of Women [tern Statements Rennarh Religious affiliation determines the role 3.29" Undecided sf women in traditional occupations +- 1 I 3nd this reduces their opportunities. Some religious practices which 3.74 ~onsiderit a taboo for a woman to be I I head over men inhibit women's occupational opportunities. Some religious groups discourage women froin working in hotels and bars thereby reducing their) 1 - Undecided reducing their occupational I I opportunities. - Some religious groups restrict women's 3.75 Agree hour of work and this retards women's occupational opportunities. - Religious mode of dressing constitutes 3.80 Agree an impediment to occupational opportunities of women. Grand Mean 3.67 .+- The result presented in Table 7 shows that questionnaire items 5 1, 52, 54 and 55 received mean responses which were equal to or above 3.50; showing that female secondaiy school teachers in Imo State I regarded these questionnaire items as impediments to theit occupational, I opportunities. On the other hand, questionnaire items 51 and 53 had ; mean scores which were less than 3.50 but above 2.49, shbwing that theI female secondary school teachers in Imo State were undecided that these items constituted impediments to their occupational opportunities. Y1o1 There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of female secondary school teachers 30 years of age or less and those 31 years of age or over on the work environment-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women. Table 8 . Work En vironmeat-related Impediments Compared by Age of Respondents - Age Age t t Remar 30 38 cal tab years years or less or over N = 833 N = 395 3.50 3 -05 3.20 1.96 Reject women bv men 15 1 Avoidance of 3.69 4.22 -4.77 1.96 Reject / occupations I warranting climbing / or use of heavy I esui~mentbv women. 16 1 Women being looked 3.06 1.07 1-96 Accept I down upon by male I co-workers and lack of promotion. 17 Exclusion of women I by men fiom 1 professional / accommodate women I in male-dominated I occupations. Reject male and female I mentors in male- dominated occupations. Constant geographical 3.65 Accept mobility associated with some occupations. Critical value of t = 1.96; Degree of fieedom = 526; Alpha level= P< .O.S The result in Table 8 shows that the null hypothesis was accepted . for two out of seven items, but was rejected for five item. Table 8 also shows that the calculated t-values for items 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19 are greater than the critical t-value for a df of 526 and the Alpha level of -05. The decision, therefore, was to reject the null hypothesis for these items as stated and accept the alternative hypothesis. However, the result in Table 8 shows that the calcull~tedt-value for items 16 and 20 were less than the critical t-value of 1.96. Consequently, a conclusion was drawn by the researcher that a significant difference does not exist between the mean ratings of female sec.ondary school teachers 30 years of age or less and the female secondary :;chool teachers 3 1 years of age and over on the work environment-related impediments to I their occupational opportunities. 3 11 1, I Ho2 There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban and rural female secondary school teachers on the s,ocialization- related impediments to occupational opportunities of women. Table 9 t-test Analysis of Socialization Impediments of Respondents in Relation to their Places of Residence -- Rural Urban \T = 397 N=I29 t t - - cal tab Remarks x X -- Teaching women 2.97 3.36 -2.58 1.915 Reject early in life that career women do not make good wives. Women's early Accept learning that certain occupations are not For them. Teaching women Reject early in life to aim more at getting married than to prepare for a career. Women's early Reject learning that a woman should not aspire to be head over a man. Teaching women Reject early in life to avoid i close association with i male non-relative. !- Women's early Reject i learning that the place I of a woman is at home. - 86 Women's early 3.27 3.29 -.I1 1.96 Accept learning that a man, not a woman is the bread winner. Women's early 3.21 3.12 .56 1.96 Accept learning that a woman lives to satisfy the desires of a man. Women's early 2.74 3 .07 -2.31 1.96 Reject learning that career women do not bear children. - Teaching women to 3.29 3.1 1 1.19 1.96 Accept be more concerned I with domestic chores I than to prepare for 1 1 I 1 I employment outside. I IA Critical value of t = 1.96; Degree of Freedom = 526; Alpha level =P < .05 The result in Table 9 shows that the null hypothesis was accepted for four out of 10 items but was rejected for six items. Also in Table 9, the calculated t-values for items 5, 10, 11 and 13 were less than the critical t-value for a df of 526 and the Al.pha level of .05. The decision, therefore, was to accept the null hypothe.sis for these items as stated and to reject the alternative hypothesis. However, the result in Table 9 shows that the calculiited t-values for items 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 were greater than the critical t-value. I Consequently a conclusion was drawn by the researcher thatla significant i difference does exist between the mean ratings of urban and' rural female secondary school teachers on the socialization-related impediments to 8 7 impediments to their occupational opportunities for these items. This means that the null hypothesis was rejected while the alternative hypothesis was accepted. H03 There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of married, single, divorced, widowed and separated female secondary school teachers in Imo State on the family-related impediments to . occupational ,opportunities of women. Table 18 Comparison of Marital Status of Female Secondary School Teachers in Imo State in Relation to Family-related Impediments Item Sum of I df I Mean F- Remarlcs Critical F Statements Squares Square cal Between Groups 24.29 4 6.07 5.58 Accept 5.63 Within Groups 568.97 523 1.08 Total Between Groups 1.47 Accept Within Groups Total I--- Between Groups Accept ?' Within Groups Total Between Groups Within Groups Total Between Groups Accept -I7 Within Groups Total Between Groups Accept;\ Within Groups Total Between Groups Accept! Within Groups Total I Between Grou~s Accept I r-1 Within Groups 1 1051.25 1 523 ( 2.01 Total 1066.90 527 29 Between Groups 16.74 4 4.'18 2.12 Accept Within Groups 103 1.98 523 1.97 913.90 523 1.74 Accept 7- wm5+Within Groups Total 932.18 527 TJ 3 1 Between Groups .592 4 Accept Within Groups 1128.391 523 2.158 Total 1128.983 527 E: df for item 26 =526. df for items 21,22,23,24,25,27, 28,29, 30 and 31 = 527. Level of significance = -05. Table 10 shows that the calculated F-value for items 21-3 1 were less than the critical F-value. As a result, a decision was made to accept the null hypothesis in preference to the alternative. This means that the married, single, divorced, widowed and separated female secondary school teachers in Imo State experience similar family-related problems which constitute impediments to their occupational opportu:nities. Findings of the Study Research Questions Based on the data analysed, the under-listed findings were made: ; Five variables were identified as socialization-relatea impediments I ! 1 to occupational opportunities of women. They were: I I 1 a. Women's early learning that some occupations belong to men. b. Women's early learning which makes them to be more concerned with getting married than to prepare for a career. c. Women's early learning that they should not aspire to be head over men. d. Women's early learning that the pkace of a woman is at home. e. Women's early learning that a man and not a woman is the bread winner. . On the other hand the respondents were undecided that the following constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities. 1. The learning that career women do not bear children. 2. The learning that women should avoid close association with male non-relatives. 3. The learning that women live to satis@ the desires of men. 4. The learning that career women do not bear children. 5. The learning that women should be more concerned with domestic chores than to be employed outside The work-environment impediments to occupationi~lopportunities of women as identified by this study were: 1. Sexual harassment of women by men I I 2. Avoidance of occupations which warrant climbing! and the usei of heavy equipment by women. 3. Exclusion of women from professional networks by men. 4. Inability of men to accommodate women in male-dominated work environment. 5. Constant geographical mobility associated with some occupations. However, the respondents did not regard the following item statements a; impediments to their occupational opportunities. 1. Women being looked down upon by male co-workers. 2. Lack of mentors in male-dominated occupations. With respect to family impediments to occupational opportunities of women, the following impediments were identified: 1. Women choose occupations with the consent of their husbands. 2. Women choose occupations which are close to their h.omes. 3. Women cannot take decisions about their occupations independent of other family members. 4. Occupational opportunities of women are hampered by their close attachment to family and household responsibilities. 5. Husbands do not appreciate the efforts of their enterp:rising wives. 6. Employers are unwilling to grant married women with young children the opportunity for on-the-job training. I 7. Man's inability to assist wives with household respor$bilities. i I However the study revealed that the respondents were undecided thatI their occupational opportunities were impeded by: 9 1 a. husbands' fear of losing control over financially-independent wives b. having a family c. name calling by members of the family and d. child-bearing responsibilities The personality-related impedinlents to occupational opportunities of women as identified in this study were as follows: Women are fragile, so they avoid physically -oriented occupations. Women's belief that some occupiitions are exclusively for men. Women's lack of confidence in their abilities, Exhibition of autocratic tendencies by women in positions of authority. Women are easily scared, so they avoid occupations which involve shooting and shedding of blood. Women lack the ability to assert themselves. While the result of the study revealed that the women were uncertain that the underlisted factors constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities: a. fear of being head over men b. lack of self-esteem c. lack of leadership qualities and d. pleasure seeking tendencies of women The discrimination-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women as found in this study were that: a. women are denied elective positions in their occupations. b. parents are unwilling to educate female children. c. financial institutions do not grant credit facilitis to women in their own names. d. occupations are segregated by sex e. same state policies support discriminatory practices againsl. women However the women were undecided that the following constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities: b. inability of the society to recognise successfid women c. suppression of the participation of girls by teachers, female teachers inclusive in science classes d. inability of the society to give women equal opportunity as their male counterparts. The religious impediments to occupational opportunities of women as revealed in this study were that: I I I I I a. some religious groups consider it a taboo for women to be head I I over men I b. some religious groups discourage women fiorn wo/king in somk establishments c. some religious groups restrict women's hour of work disproportionately d. some religious mode of dressing hinder effective ptxformance of women in their occupations However, the women were unsure that their occupationa.1 opportunities were impeded by: a. religious affiliations which determine their role b. refusal of parents to give female children Western Education R~ltof Hypotheses Testing The result in table 8 shows that the calculated t-value for items 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19 were greater than the critical value [table value] of 1.96 at a df of 526 and the Alpha Level of .05. This means that the null hypothesis which states that there are no significant diffe:l-ence between the mean ratings of female secondary school teachers 30 years of age or less and female secondary school teachers 31 years of age or over on the work environment-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women was rejected for these items. However, the result in table 8 shows that the calculated t-value fix items 16 and 20 are less than the table value at a df of 526 and Alplla level of .05. The decision was, therefore, to accept the null hypothesis in favour of the alternative hypothesis for these items. The result in table 9 shows that the hypothesis which states that there will be no significant difference between the mean rafngs of urban and rural female secondary school teachers on the socialization-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women were accepted fix four out of 10 items, but was rejected for six out of 10 items. The calculated t-value for items 5, 10, 11 and 13 are less than the critical t- value at a df of 526 and the Alpha level of .05. However the calculated t- value for items 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 were greater than the critical t-value at a df of 526 and the Alpha level of -05. Consequently a conclusion was drawn by the researcher that a significant difference did not exist between the mean ratings of urban and rural female secondary school teachers in Imo State on the socialization-related impediments to their occupational opportunities in four out of 10 items, but a significant difference existed between the mean ratings of urban and rural female secondary school teachers in Imo State on the socialization-related impediments to their occupational opportunities in six out of 10 items. The result in Table 10 shows that the null hypothesis which states that there will be no significant difference among the mean ratings of I married, single, widowed, divorced, and separated fenjale secondary 1 1 I school teachers on the family-related impediments t& occupational \ opportunities of women was accepted for all the items at a df of 526 and Alpha level of .05. Discussion of the Findings The findings of the study were presented and discussed according to the research questions answered and hypotheses tested. Resewrch Questions The following variables were found to be the socialization impediments to occupational opportunities of women: Women's early learning that some occupations belong to men; women's early learning that they should be more concerned with finding a spouse than to prepare for a career; women's early learning that they should not aspire to be head over men; women's early learning that t'he place of n women is at home; and women's early learning that a man and not woman is the bread winner. The findings that women learn early in life that some occupations belong to men is consistent with those of Basaw [I9921 who observed that the most critical factor responsible for the low participation of women in the labour market is their early learning about the expected role of a woman. Commenting on women's early learning that somlz occupations belong to men, Kpabep (I20061 stated that the low ! participation of women in science and technology-based occupationsI is a's I a result of the role models which they are provided, that isj more men in science related occupations than women. With regard to women's early learning that they should be mon: concerned with getting married than to prepare for a career, Nworgu (2004), Okoye (1999) and Omole (2002) agreed that women's occupational opportunities are retarded by the expectation that a woman should be more concerned with finding a spouse which gives esteem to the parents than to prepare for employment outside the home. The findings on the early learning of women that the place of ii woman is at home is in consonance with the assertion by William in Kpabep (20061) that women are trained and tutored to be mindhl of the ho-me front, bear and rear children while the men should engage in other activities outside the home. Five factors were regarded as work environment-related impediments by the respondents namely: Sexual harassment: of women by men; avoidance of occupations which warrant climbing and the use of heavy equipment by women; exclusion of women from professioniil networks by men in male-dominated work environments; and constant geographical mobility associated with some occupations. With respect to sexual harassment, DeLeire and Levy (2001) I agreed that the withdrawal attitudes of women in male-dqminated work I i environments emanates from the incessant sexual harassnjent of women I I 1 i by men. Basaw (1992) asserted that in male-dominated work environments, over 75 per cent of women have experienced one form of sexual harassment or the other. Basaw further stated that in male dominated work environment men regard women as inferior workers and sexual objects, a situation which many women will hardly accept. Commenting on the fact that women avoid occupations which warrant climbing and the use of heavy equipment, Kpabep (2006) agreed that in some communities, it is a taboo for a woman to climb. To this effect as stated by Kpabep, women's curiosity and creative tendencies become dwarfed and their zeal to get into science and technology operations are also reduced. The findings on the inability of men to accommodate women in male-dominated work environment is in consonance with Nworgu's (2004) observation that in male-dominated occupations, women are seen as outsiders or errants. In some cases tbey are ridiculed or threatened for daring to compete with men. With reference to women avoiding occupations which involve constant geographical mobility, Riley (1997) observed that in every society women are regarded as family caretakers. Ccmsequently, to engage in occupations which warrant constant relocation fiom one place to another will result to the abandonment of a woman's traditional role. ' The findings on the effect of family on th& occupatiohal opportunities of women are in line with Omole's (2002) filldings that one of the numerous effects of family issues on women is tile formation of barriers to women's scientific and research productivity. Regarding women's close attachment to the family, Kpabep (2006) agreed that the limited access of women to the labour market is due to t'heir disproportionate attachment to family and house hold responsibilities. On the inability of women to take decisions about their occupatior~s independent of farnily members, Chitra (2000) asserted that men3 dominance and interference of family members in decision-malting processes of a woman constitute irnpediments to her occupationd advancement. With regard to men's inability to appreciate their enterprising wives, Oganwu (1996) lamented that men see the progress of their wives in their occupations as a sign that they are about to loose control over them. The respondents agreed that the following personality factors constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities: fragility of women; the idea that some occupations belong to men; lack of confidence by women; exhibition of autocratic tendencies by women in positions of authority; the ease with which women are scared; and inability of women to assert themselves. The findings on the fiagility of women which make them to avoid I physically-oriented occupations are in consonance with ~asaw(1 99'2) I I who asserted that hagility and soft-spokenness are amc!ng the factors I which hinder the occupational opportunities of women. About women's belief that some occupations belong to men, Kpabep (2006) agreed that the societal perception of jobs which are "normal" and "abnormal" for men and women boost the feelings in women that some oc.cupations are not for women. Regarding the exhibition of autocratic 1:endencies by women in positions of authority, Ndu (1994) agreed that -most working women have the tendency to lord over their husbands; while the UP.1 (1998) noted that women in management positions tend to acquirlz masculine tendencies to ensure survival in areas seen as men's province. The UNESCO (1981) and Basaw (1992) agreed that women are not achievement oriented. Consequently they are unable to demonstrate that they can achieve as much as men. The respondents agreed that the following discriminatory practices constitute impediments to thei.r occupational opportunities: women being denied elective positions in their occupations; inability of parents to give equal educationril opportunities to girls as to the boys; inability of financial institutions to extend credit facilities to women; segregation of occupations by sex; assignment of inferior status to women by the society and state policies which support discriminatory practices against women. The findings on parents inability to educate female children are in consonance with Omole [2002] who stated that where parents resources i are limited, women's education receive lower order priority. On the I inability of financial institutions to extend credit to women, Azikiwe [I9921 agreed that women are unable to receive credit in their own names due to the fact that the banks underestimate women's ability to pay back. Also, with regard to government's policies which support discriminatory practices against women, Ajoma [I9991 agreed that taxltion laws and practices discriminate against women in Nigeria. It was revealed by this study that the following religious practices constitute impediments to occupational opportunities of NComen:the idea that it is a taboo for a woman to be head over a man; inability of religious groups to allow women to work in an establishment of their choice; restriction of women's hour of work by some religious groups; and religious mode of dressing which hinder the effective performance of women in their occupations. The findings that women's choice of occupations ;ire restricted to few establishments agree with the WB's (2004) view that some religious groups do not allow women to hold posts in ministries like Interior, Civil Protection, Defence and National Security. With regard to restrictions on women's hour of work , World Bank [2003] reported that restrictions on women working at night exists in most Islamic Communities. Regarding religious mode of dressing and effective performance of !women in their occupations, Zack and William (1985) agreed that some religious mode Ii of dressing hinder the effective performance of women in their occupations. Discrrssion of Hypotheses-based cous Findings The findings relating to hypothesis one (Ho,) revealed that the nuill hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for two out of seven items, because the calculated t-values of 1.07 and -1 -75 werc less than the critical t-value of 1.96 at a degree of freedom of 526 and the alpha level of -05. This means that the work environment impediments e~perience~d by the two groups of women (women 30 years or less and women 31 . years of age or over above) do not differ from one another. This supports the result of the study conducted by Nworgu (2004) that in male:- dominated work environments, women are seen and treated as errants and outsiders. However, the findings on hypothesis one (Hophowed that the null hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected for items 14, 15, I?, 18 and 19 because the calculated t-value for these items aIe greater than the critical t-value of 1.96 at a degree of freedom of 526 and the alpha level of .05. This result is in conformity with the result of the study of Basaw [I9921 that in male-dominated work environment, more than 75 per cent of women of all ages have experienced one form of sexuid harassment or the other. I I I The result on hypothesis two (Ho2) revealed I:that the null I hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for four out of te'n items because the calculated t-values of - 1.2 1, -. 1 1, .56 and 1.19 were less than the critical t-value of 1.96 at a degree of freedom OF 526 and the alpha level of .05. This result supports the findings of Mere (1975) that women in every culture are socialized and conditioned to play their roles with minimum manifest conflicts and that a woman who neglects the socially-assigned duties is termed a deviant. To this effect, women often shy away from occupations which may involve competition with men. However, the result on hypothesis two revealed that the null , hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected for six out of 10 items because the calculated t-values for these items, were more than the critical t-value of 1.96 at a degree of freedom of 526 at the alpha level of .05. The result relating to hypothesis three [Ho3] showed that the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for all the item:;, implying that the family-related impediments to occupational opportunities of married, single, widowed, divorced or separated women do not differ from one another. This result does not agree with th.e findings of Melarned [I9961 that marital status and parenthood interfere with women's progress because employers are often reluctant to offix I jobs to or promote women due to high likelihood of career ihtermption. f CHAPTER V SUMMARY, sCONCLUSl[ONS, AND RECOMMENDATIBNS W e-shnBer3aent of th e Problem The number of women engaged in occupations classified as professional and technical is considerable. Yet Azikiwe (2001) stated that the opportunities available to women in the labour miirket are more limited than those of men. She attributed this disparity to socialization, discrimination against women, cultural prejudices, intimidation by m.en through their attitudes and behaviour towards female counterparts and family responsibilities among others, which limit the presmce of wom.en to few sectors such as education, health, social and cultural services. Izuako (1993) indicated that women account for a much smaller proportion of scientific workers, engineers, jurists, econonlists, architects, administrators and managers. Azikiwe (2001) gave the percentage of female lecturers in some faculties at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (1998/99 session) as follows: Faculty Engineering zero pw cent; Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry 17 per cent; Faculty of Physical Sciences eight per cent; Faculty of Agriculture 16 per cent; Faculty of Education 34 per i cent; and Faculty of Health Science and Technology 46 per cent. The disparity between men and women in these disciplines as i~otedby Oke;ke j (2004), is more pronounced in developing countries of &hich Nigeria is one. Okeke (2004) further observed that the low enrolment of women in lo3 the sciences is attributed to the fact that the sciences epitomize the characteristics of competitiveness and aggressiveness among others, while female characteristics that are rnost enthusiastically praised in the society are those of passiveness, respectfulness, intuition and emotionality, thus making it imperative for women to choose occupations which reflect these characteristics. Ezeji (2001) wrote that out of several occupations available for both men and women, women are found in a few service occupations such as teaching, nursing, trading other social services. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, teaching at all levels is one of the most despised occupations, with the result that most parents do not want their children to be trained as teachers. This notwithstanding, teaching continues to be the most attractive occupation for the majority of i;he women professionals. Even in the teaching profession, women are not always offered positions they are as qualified for as the men, sometinles due to the way society sees them. Also, women's oppcrtunities in \;he labour market are defined by their roles as perceived by religious, cultural, social and family-related practices, beliefs and expectations, which constitute unnecessary impediments to their e~pploymentend progress. Therefore, it is the recognition that women havk live and work i i just like men, and the need for them to participate fully in the labour market that informed the researcher's interest for the study. Summary of Procedure Used The major purpose of the study was to identify the impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by female secondary school teachers in Inlo State. The study posed and answered six research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated and tesced. The population consisted of 3,201 female secondary school teachers fkom where a sample size of 695 female secondary school , teachers was. determined using the stratified sampling procedure. k structured questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data for the study. The research instrument was subjected to face validation by three lecturers in the Dep'artment of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The reliability coefficient of the study was .85 which was calculated with the Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r). The research questions were answered using the mean statistic while the hypotheses were tested using t-test and ANOVA at .O:> level of significance. Principal Findings I I The following principal findings were made based on the data j analysed: I 1. The five impediments to the occupational opportunities of women which were associated to socialization experiences were the learning that: a. some occupations belong to men; b. a woman should be more concerned with getting married than to prepare for a career; c. a woman should not aspire to be head over a man; d. the place of a woman is at home and; e. a man and not a woman is the bread winner. 2. Five impediments to the occupational opportunities of women were associated with the work environment: they are: a. sexual harassment of women by men; b. avoidance of occupations which require climbing and the use of heavy equipment by women; c. exclusion of women fi-om professional networks by men; d. inability of men to accommodate women in male-dominated work environments and; e. constant geographical mobility ~~ssociatedwith some occupations. 3. Seven impediments to occupational opportunities df women were i associated with family issues: They are: a. choosing occupations with the consent of husbands; b. choosing occupations which are close to the home; c. inability of women to take decisions about their occupations independent of other family members; d. close attachment to family and h,ousehold responsibilities; e. husbands inability to appreciate the efforts of their enterprising wives f employers unwillingness to grant married women with young children the opportunity for on-the-job-training and; g. husband's inability to assist wives with household responsibilities. 4. Six impediments to occupational opportunities of women relate to personality: These are: a. the fragile nature of women which makes them to avoid physica.11~ oriented occupations, b. women's belief that some occupations are exclusively for men; c. women's lack of confidence in their abilities; d. exhibition of autocratic tendencies by women in positions of authority; e. the ease with which women are scared which makes them to avoid I occupations which involve shooting and shedding of blood and I f lack of ability to assert self by women. five impediments to occupational opportunities of women were associated to discrimination: they include: denial of elective positions to women in their occupations, inability of parents to educate their female children rehsal by financial institutions to grant women loan in their own names; regarding women as less suitable workers in some occupations bty the society; state policies which support discriminatory practices against women. Four impediments to occupational opportunities of' women were associated to religious practices. These are: the belief that it is a taboo for a woman to be head over a man; discouraging women from working in hotels and bars; restriction on women's hour of work and prescription of mode of dressing for women. Findings Based on Test of Hypotheses 1. There were no significant difference between the mean ratings of female secondary school teachers 30 years of age orless and those I 31 years of age or over on two out of seven factors :listed as work environment-related impediments to occupational ~i,~ortunitiesof women. However, there was a significant difference between the mean ratings of female secondary school teachers 30 years of ag,e or less and those 31 years of age or over on five out of seven factors listed as impediments related to work environment. 2. There were no significant differences between the mean ratings of urban and rural female secondary school teachers on four out of 10 factors which were listed as socialization-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women. But significant differences existed between the mean ratings of urban and rural female secondary school teachers on six out of 10 socialization-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women. 3. There were no significant differences among the mlsan ratings of married, single, divorced, widowed or separated female secondary school teachers on all the 11 factors listed as family-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women, Conckmions Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: Some socialization experiences of women constitute impediments ta i their occupational opportunities. This conclusion was drawn becausa the women agreed that five out of 10 factors listed underlsocialization- 110 related factors constitute impediments to their occupational opportunities. Work environment-related factors constitute impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by the female secondary school teachers in Imo State. This is because the respondents regarded five out of seven factors listed under work environment as impediments to their occupational opportunities. Family-related factors also constitute impediments to occupational opportunities of women. This conclusion was drawn because the female secondary school teachers in Imo State regard seven out of 11 factors listed under family as impediments to occupatiorial opportunities of women. Personality-related factors constitute impediments to occupatior~al opportunities of women. This is because the respondents agreed that six out of 10 factors listed under personality retard the occupational opportunities of women. Discrimination-related issues constitute impediments to occupational opportunities of women as perceived by the female secondary school I teachers in Imo State. This conclusion was based on the fact that the respondents agreed that five out of eight factors,I listed under discrimination constitute impediments to occupational opportunities of women. 6. Religious-related issues constitute impediments to occ~pation~al opportunities of women as perceived by the female secondary school teachers in Imo State. Again this conclusion was drawn given that the respondents regarded four out of six issues listed under religion 11s impediments to occupational opportunities of women. Recommendistiuns Based on the findings made and the conclusioils drawn, the following recommendations were made; 1. Women should not be socialized to believe that they are inferior to men since this has negative influence/impact on their occupational opportunities. Rather they should be encouraged to get into science and technology-based occupations instead of teaching them, that as the inferior sex, they should not compete with men. 2. Men should be liberal enough to accommodate women in malls dominated occupations. They should also avoid harassing women sexually or regarding them as sex objects. 3. Women should stop complaining but should instead get into science and technology-based occupations. They should not regsd i such occupations as physically-oriented, or the exdlusive reserve for men. 4. Men should encourage their enterprising wives and should not see their progress in their careers as an attack on their established role:;. Men should assist their wives with household chclres and child rearing. Child bearing and rearing should not be used against women by employers of labour rather, men and wornen should be given equal opportunities for growth in their occupations. 5. Women should have confidence in themselves and should avoid looking for male image-makers when they are in positions of authority. They should be able to assert themselves and be able to discipline erring staff. Women in positions of authority should comport themselves properly by not flouting the authorities of their husbands nor those of other constituted authorities. 6. Employers should not discriminate against women. Child bearing and rearing should not be used against women. Financial institutions should extend credit facilities to women in their own names and at reduced interest rates so that they can engage in any business of their choice. They should be given a fiee hand to be head over men and women if they are qualified. They should be allowed to work for any number of hours as is avhable to their male counterparts. I 7. Reiigious groups should allow their female members to dress in il way that will not interfere with their efficient and effective functioning in their occupations. Pr~rplicntiorrto Vo~iiz'ioiotd E~UC~E~~OYI (I) The findings on the idea that women are socialized into believing that some occupations are meant for men or women would help Vo~ationalEducators to ensure that there is improvement on the curriculum for Vocational Guidance and that the curriculum is strictly followed so that women do not drift away from certain occupations because of the impression that such occ:upations are reserved for men. (2) On the findings regarding men's inability to accommodate women in male dominated occupations. Vocational Educators should encourage men to accommodate women in such occupations considering the contributions women could make to ihe economic development of a nation. (3) Regarding the findings on the personality-related impediments to occupational opportunities of women, Vocationid Educators should encourage women to have coniidence in themselvesI so that I they could take up any managerial and administrative positions like their male counterparts. (4) VJith respect to discrimination-related impzdiments to occupatior~al opportunities of women, Vocation a1 Educators should encourage employers of labour to hire women if they are as qualified as their male counterparts so that they could contribute to the development of the economy. Si!iggcsIiimsfor Further Sludy The following suggestions were made for further research: 1. This research should be replicated in other states of N igeria. 2. Further research should be conducted to investigate othei* impediments to occupational opportunities of women. 3. 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APPENDICES APPENDIX A Calculation of the Sample Size N= (z/e) 2(~)(1-P) z = Standard score corresponding to confidence level e.g. 95% = 1.96 e = Sampling error, for this study = 0.05 p = Proportion of persons in group being considered e.g. Okigwe, Orlu or Owerri 1-p = Other groups not being considered when the other is being considered e.g. Orlu and Owerri when Okigwe is being considered. SIN Zone Population 1 Okigwe 408 ( 1.961.05 2 1 Orlu 5 24 =1536.64 -163 1 .837 -136 3 1 Owerri 2269 3 92 = .708 1 .292 .206 I . 208-9"'?3 16.5=3 17 1536.64 Total 3201 APPENDIX B Computation of Weliability of the Instrument APPENDIX C Letter to the Respondents Department of Vocational Teacher Education University of Nigeria Nsukka Date ...... Dear Madam, I am a Ph.D student in the above named Department. I am conducting a research on the impediments to occupational opportunities of women. I request that you fill the attached questionnaire. The informa1;ion supplied by you will be treated as confidential and will be used for the purpose of this study only. Thank you. Yours Sincerely Ezeji, H.A. (Mrs) APPENDIX D LIST OF SECOIVDARY SCHOOLS IN W13[10STATE OKHGWIE SENATORIAL ZONE SCHOOLS EHHME LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Umuezeala Owerre Girls High School Ezeoke Nsu Girls' Secondary School Umunumo Community Secondary School Agbaja Secondary Technical School Umueze I Secondary Technical School Nsu Comprehensive High School Umuanunu Umueleke Umueze Secondary Commercial School Umueze I1 Secondary School Boys' Secondary School, Umunumo Ibeafor Secondary School, Umunumo Umuduru Nsu Boys' Secondary School Ezeoke High Sch~ol,Nsu Umuezeala Ama Secondary School Union Comprehensive Secondary School, Nzerem Agbaghara Nsu Community Secondary School Dioka Nzerem Community Secondary School Fatima Secondary School (Technical) Umuakagu Nsu Comprehensive Secondary School Umunakanu Umukabia Secondary School, Umukabia Onicha Uboma Comprehensive Secondary School Uboma Secondary School Ikperejere Umuezegwu Secondary Technical School Abuelte Community Secondary School Amainyi High School Okata Comprehensive Secondary School Boys High School Amauzu-Ihitte Amakohia Secondary School Amainyinta Community Secondary School Nwaeruru Mbakwe Comprehensive ~chooiUmuihi-Ihi Madonna Senior Secondary School for Scicnce HSIAEA MBANO 1 Ibeme High School Aquinas Secondary School Osu St. Dominie's Secondary School, Ugiri Amauzari Comprehensive Secondary School Osuachara Community Secondary School Obollo Secondary Technical School Umuduru Osu Secondary School Eziama Secondary School Osu-Ama Anara Community Secondary School Umunkwo Girls' Secondary School Amaraku Community Secondary School Ezihe Community Secondary School Umuozu Ugiri Secondary School Ogbor Ugiri Community Secondary School Umuneke Ugiri Secondary School Okohia Osu Technical College Okohia Secondary School i'vtbeke Osu Comprehensive Secondary School Umukabia Secondary School, Umukabia OBOWO Ikenanzizi Community Secondary School Jkenanzizi Girls' Secondary School Okenalogho Secondary Technical School Umuariam Secondary Technical School Avutu Secondary Technical School Achara Secondary Commercial School, Obowo Ehunachi Comprehensive Secondary School Amanze Comprehensive Secondary School Oltwuoha Community Secondary School OKJGWE Ihube High School, Okigwe Girls' Secondary School, Oltigwe Umulolo Boys' Secondary School Ezinachi Community Secondary School Umulolo High School, Umulolo Ihube Girls' Secondary School I Umuowa-Ibu Secondary Technical School i Agbobu Community Secondary School 1/ f Urban Secondary School, U baha-Okigwe 1 Community Secondary School, Okigwe 1 Community Secondary School, Aku-Okigvk 69 1 Okigwe National Grammar School, Umuna 70 2 Boys' Secondary School, Okwe 71 3 Okwelle Secondary School, Okwelle 72 4 Umucheke Okwe Girls' Secondary School 73 5 Umuduru-Egbeaguru Community Secondiiry School OWLU SENATORIAL ZONE PDEATO NORTH Iheme Memorial Grammar School, Arondizuogu National High School, Arondizuogu Akokwa High School Urualla Girls' High School Akokwa Secondary Technical School Comprehensive Secondary School, Urualla Secondary Commercial School, Osina Secondary Technical School, Obodoukwl~ Akpulu Secondary School National Secondary School, Ntueke Isiekenesi High School Senior Secondary Technical School, Diktmafai Umueshi Secondary School Amanator Community Secondary School, Ogboza Comprehensive Secondary School, Umurna Isialtu Comprehensive Secondary School, Umuobom Comprehensive Secondary School, Ugbelle PSU 91 1 High School, Isunjaba 92 2 Secondary Technicrd School, Amandugba 93 3 Comprehensive Secondary School, Amurie Omanze 94 4 Ekwe Secondary School 95 5 Ebenator-Elrwe Secondary School 96 6 Isunjaba Comprehensive Secondary School i St. Saviour's Secondary School, Umuaka Secondary Commercial School, Atta Okwudor Secondary Technical School Girls' Secondary Technical School, Umuakil Secondary Technical School, Amucha Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkume-[su Isu High School Dick Tiger Memorial Secondary School, Arnaigbo King Jaja High School, Amaigbo Community Secondary School, Abajah Isu Girls' Secondary School St. August ine's Grammar School Nkwerre St. Catherine's Girls' Secondary School, Nl'cwerre Boys' Secondary School, Nkwerre Community Secondary School, Abba Girls' Secondary School, Owerre-Nkwoji Community Secondary School, Urnudi Community Secondary School, Amaokpara. Comprehensive Secondary School, Eziama Obaire OWLU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AWCA Bishop Shanahan Secondary School, Orlu I Girls' Secondary School, Ihioma I Ojike Memorial Secondary School I I I Okporo Secondary Technical School, Okp~ro 1 Girls' Secondary School, Orlu i Ezinachi Secondary School I Secondary Technical School, Umuowa Ogberuru Secondary School Ihitteowerre Secondary School Township Comprehensive Secondary School, Amifeke Comprehensive Secondary School, Umuzike Green Uzor Comprehensive College, Ihioma Community Secondary School, Mgbee Community Secondary Sch.001, Umuna Community Secondary School, Obinugwu Ihiteowerre Urban Secondary School, llmuna Orlu Owerre-Ebeiri Community Secondary School Umueze Community Secondary School, Amike 819SU LOCAL GOEWNMENT AREA 134 1 Comnlunity Secondary School, AWO-Tdemili 135 2 Ihitenansa Secondary School 136 3 ' Amannachi Secondary Commercial School Am,mnachi 137 4 Orsuihiteukwa Secondary School 138 5 Urnul~u0 kabia Secondary School 139 6 Girls Secondary School Awo-Idemili 140 7 Comprehensive Secondary Eziawa ORU -EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT Al3E.A Awo-Omamma Comprehensive Secondary School Secondary Technical School Awo-Omamma Ubogwu Secondary Commercial School Awo-Omamma Secondary Technical School Omuma Amiri Boys' Secondary School Akatta Secondary School Aluma Secondary School Amiri Girls' Secondary School OWW WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 149 1 Comprehensive Secondary School Ubulu 150 2 Mgbidi Secondary School , 15 1 3 Umuorji Girls' Secondary School Mgbidi I 152 4 Comprehensive Secondary School Ozara 1 153 5 Nempi Secondary School I I 154 6 Ohakpu Secondary Commercial School I 155 7 Otulu Secondary Cominercial School BWEBPIgP SENATORIAL ZONE Mbaise Secondary School Aboh Mbaise Enyiogugu Secondary School Oke-Uvuru Secondary School Ngu~uSecondary Commercial School Girls' Secondary School Ogbor-Nguru Okwuator Secondary School Community Secondary School Lagwa Okwuato Comprehensive Secondary School Amuzu Mbutu Secondary School Uzunorji Community Secondary School Nguru Secondary Technical School Lorj i Community Secondary School Ahiara Technical College/.Tunior Secondary School Community Secondary School Amuzi Pater Noster Secondary School Ekwerazu Girls' Secondary School Ekwerazu Saint Patrick's Secondary School Ogbe Ahiara. Secondary Commercial School Otulu Ahiara Obahia Secondary Technical School Obohia Lhenworie Secondary School Ahiazu Comprehensive Secondaiy School Oparanadinl Community Secondary School Obodo-Ahiara Ahiazu Secondary School Afor-Oru Comprehensive Secondaly School Okirika-Nweke Umuokirika Secondary Technical School. EZIMHITTPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Ife Secondary School I Chokoneze Secondary Technical School 1 Amumara Secondary School 1i Mbaise Girls High School Onicha Obizi High School I Community Secondary School Obizi IJdo Secondary Technical School Eziudo Secondary Technical School Okpofe Secondary School Eziudo Girls' Secondary School Eziagbogu Secondary School Community Secondary School Itu-Ezinihitte Onicha Secondary School lhitte Ezinihitte Secondary School Ime-Onicha Comprehensive Secondary School Oboama Secondary School IIKEDURU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Amaimo High School Uzoagba Girls' Secondary School Amakohia Secondary School Ikeduru Girls' Secondary School Akabo Atta Girls' Secondary School Umudim Secondary School Secondary Commercial School, Eziama Iltedun~ Atta Boys' Secondary School Comprehensive Secondary School Ngugo Iho-Dimeze Comprehensive Secondary School Comprehensive Secondary School Avuvu Community Secondary School Ugiri-Ike Amaimo Community Girls' Secondary School Uzoagba Secondary School Inyishi Community Secondary School Owu-Amakohia Secondary School Amtitta Community Secondary School Umuoziri Secondary Technical School Inyishi MBAITOLI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Community Secondary School Mbieri Presentation Secondary School Ogbaku 1 Obazu Community Secondary School Mbieri 1 Girls' Secondary School TJmueze Ogwa Community Secondary School Eziarna Obiato . Secondary Technical School Orodo Mbieri Secondary Technical School Obazu Girls' Secondary School Mbieri Afara Secondary School Umunoha Secondary School Umunoha High School Umueze-ogwa Secondary School Ifakala Community Secondary School Comprehensive Secondary School Ogwa Ogbaku Girls7 Secondary School Ubomiri Girls' Secondary School Ubomiri Comprehensive Secondary School IMS Secondary School for the DEAF Ofelcata Orodo Girls7Junior Secondary School Ifakala Community Secondary School Umuonyeali NGOW (DWAEA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Owerri Grammar School Imerienwe Ngor - Okpala High School Olcpala Secondary School Secondary Commercial School Obiangwu Imerienwe Girls' Secondary School Community Seconda~ySchool Mbato Amala-Ntu Secondary School Nguru-Umuaro Community Secondary School Umuhu Comprehensive Secondary School Umuohiagu Secondary School Comprehensive Secondary School Umuokwunc: Orishieze Community Secondary School Orisheze Logara High School Wgor-Okpala OCUTA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Priscilla Memorial Secondary School Oguta Trinity High School Oguta Oguta Girls' High School St. Micheal's Secondary School Oguta I Egbuoma Secondary School I I Izombe Secondary Commercial School I I Agwa Secondary Awa I Community Secondary School Awa :I EjemekwurdAkabor Secondary School BHAJUEGBEMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Ohaji High School, Mgbirichi Egbema Secondary School Secondary Commercial School Assa Community Secondary School Awara Obosima Secondary Technical School Umuwaku Secondary School Ohoba Comprehensive Secondary School Ohoba Umuokanne Comprehensive Secondary Schoo l Umwapu Secondary School. OWEKRI MUNICIPAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Government Secondary School Owerri Emmanuel College Owerri Holy Ghost College Owerri Owerri Girls' Secondary School Government Technical College Owerri Comprehensive Development Secondary School Owerri Girls' Secondary School Tkenegbu Boys Secondary School New Owerri Urban Secondary School New Owerri OWEWRH NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA Girls' Secondary School Emekuku Egbu Girls' Secondary School Egbu Community Secondary School Emekuku Obube Secondary School Ulakwo Emeltuku High School Comprehensive Secondary School Emekuku Community Comprehensive Secondary School Egbu Con~munitySecondary School Obibi-Ezena Uratta Secondary School Gfirls' Secondary School Akwakuma Emii Secondary School Naze Secondary School I, Ogbeke-Obibi Secondary School I Girls' Junior Secondary School Emekuku I Boys' Secondary School Azaraegbelu ! Amakohia Comprehensive Secondary School bwerri Agbala Secondary School Owerri Ezisbodo Secondary Technical School Girls' Secondary School Obinze Wekede Secondary School Ihiagwa Secondary School Ara Secondary School Amakohia-Ubi Secondary School Wdegw Secondary School Community Secondary School Orogwe Comprehensive Secondary School Avu Comprehensive Secondary School Emeabiam Irete Secondary School Emabiam Oforola Community Secondary School Bishop Lasbrey Girls' Secondary School Irete Army Day Secondary School Obinze Urban Development Secondary School Boys' Secondary School New Owerri Nominal Role of Female Secondary School Teachers by Local Governmeut Area 3WERRII ZONE 2004J2005 TEACHERS ,ocal Government Area Female Yboh-Mbaise 132 134 --4hiazu-Mbaise -- Zzinihitte 107 keduru 149 Wbaitoli 269 Vgor-Okpala 102 Dguta 55 - Owerri Munici~al 1 597 Owerri N-orth 1 449 Owerri West 1 209 Total I 2269 Orlu I 205 Orsu I 40 N kwere I 3 5 Niaba I 39 Ideato North I 50 Ideato South Oru East Oru West -Nwangele Total Ehinie I 87 Isiala Mhano I 82 Obowo 1 86 Oltigwe 72 .- Onuimo 14 , Total Grand Total 3,201 I--1 I I APPENDIX F I[mpedimewts to Occupational Opportunities of Women SECTION A: GENER.AL HNPOMAT.ION Please complete the following by checking (Y) in the spaccs provided: I am: - 30 years or less - - 31 years or older - I am: - Married - Single - Divorced - Widowed - Separated My school is located in the : - rural area - urban area S@CXALIZATION IMPEDKlVdENI'S TO OCCUPATIONAL OBPORTUNHT3[ES OF WOMEN Indicate your extent of agreement about each of the following statement:; using the options Strongly Agree (SA); Agree (A); Undecided (U); Disagree (D); and Strongly Disagree (SD). ITEM STATEMENTS ma 1 4 / The view by most societies that career women do I I I I ( I / ( are not for them is an impediment to their ;I I I 1'11 occupational opportunities. 6 Teaching women early in life to aim more at i getting married than to prepare for a career is an , impediment to their occupational opportunities. --1 7 The view by most societies that a woman should 1 lot aspin: to be head over a man is an impediment ,o women's occupational opportunities. reaching women early in life to avoid close usociation with male non-relatives retards their xcupational opportunities. The view by most societies that the phce of a woman is at home is an impediment to occupational opportunities of women. The view by most societies that a man, not a woman is the bread winner makes women psychologically and physically unprepared to assume a career. The impression that a woman lives to satis@ the desires of a man is an impediment to women's dccupational opportunities. Women's early learning that career women do not bear children is an impediment to women's occupational opportunities. Teaching women to be more concerned with domestic chores than to be employed outside for payment is an impediment to their occupational opportunities. Sexual harassment of women by men is an impediment to women's occupational opportunities. Occupations which warrant climbing or the use of heavy equipment may be avoided by women. Women are often looked down upon by male co- workers and this makes it difficult for them to be _]P_romoted as necessary. The exclusion of women by men from professionalj networks is an impediment b their occupational opportunities. The inability of men to accommodate women in male-dominated occu~ationsis an impediment to ! I 1 I occupational opportunities of women. 19 Women often lack both male and female mentors in male-dominated work-environment. 20 Constant geographical mobility associated with some occupations makes it difficult for women to Iget into such occu~ations. I IIII I FAMILY-RELATED QMPEDMEMTS TO BCCUBATHQNAE OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN ITEM STATEMENTS 21 The tendency of women to choose occupations with the consent or approval of their husbands I 1 retards their occupational opportunities. 33 Restricting their choice to occupations which are very close to their homes is an impediment to the occupational opportunities of women. 1 23 1 Inability to take certain decisions about her occupation independent of family members is an I impediment to women's occupational 1 oeoom~lities. [ 24 [ Husbands' fear of loosing control over their I 1 financially-independent wives impedes women's occupational opportunities. 25 Women's attachment to family and household / I responsibilities is an impediment to their I / occupational opportunities. 26 ( Men's inability to appreciate the efforts of their I ( enterprising wives dampens women's spirits to in their occupations. women, especially those with I I young children the opportunity for on-the-job 1 I training is an impediment to their occupational I I opportunities. / 28 1 To have a family can retard a woman's hope for a; management position. C 29 Name-calling by members of the family can I reduce the enthusiasm of a woman to aspire high$ -in her occupation. ! Child-bearing and caring responsibilities impede ! I d I I the occupational opportunities of women. 1 31 / The inability of most husbands to assist their IT] I I wives with household tasks is an impediment to I I I 1 / 1 I the occupational opportunities of women. /l.L-l BERSONALJITY RELATED PMPEDMENTS TO OCCUPATIONAL OPPORTUNLTHBES, OF WOMEN ITEM STATElflENTS The fragile nature of women makes it difficult for hem to engage in physical-oriented occupations. Nomen's belief that certain occupations are for nen impedes their occupational opportunities. Women's lack of confidence in themselves retards heir occupational opportunities. -I-- Women in positions of authority exhibit autocratic tendencies and this retards their occupational omortunities. The fear of being head over men retards women's aspiration to managerial positions in occupations where they are likely to be head. Women are sady scared, so they avoid occupations such as shooting and security work thus limiting their opportunities. Women lack self-esteem, and this results to poor performance during appraisal and this retards their opportwn ities. Women lack leadership qualities necessary to discipline erring staff and this affects their occupational opportunities. The pleasure-seeking tendencies of women retard their occupational opportunities. The inability of women to assert themselves makes them to behave as if they are incompetent when working with men thus reducing their occupational ITEM STATE:I$/dENTS 42 Because of gender-discrb~haitiob~women may be denied elective positives in their occupations. 43 Most parents are unwilling to educate their female ( / children and this retards women's occupational 1 1 I 1 1 opportunities. Most financia1 institutions 80 not allow women to I:eceive credit in their own names because they are -ihhid that they may not be able to pay back. ISuccessful women are usually not recognised in the society as their male counterparts and this discourages women's zeal to aspire higher in their occupations. The belief in most societies that women are not suitable for some occupations retards women's occupational opportunities. In most societies, some state policies support discriminatory practices against women. Teachers, female teachers inclusive suppress the participation of girls in science classes and this --retards women's occupationa.l- opportunities. .------Because of gender discriminations, men may be promoted to higher positions in preference to women. RELIGIOUS ILIBIIPEDlTVXZENI'S TO OCCUPATIONAL OPPOHaTUNPTlUES OF WOMEN 1 1 ITEM STATEMENTS 1 50 1 Religious affiliation determines the role of women in traditional occupations and this reduces their i I I - opportunities. I-i 5 1 Some religious practices which consider it a taboo I ( for a woman to be head over men inhibit women'; occupational opportunities. -I 52 Some religious groups discourage women from - working in hotels and bars thereby reducing their opportunities. 53 Because of religion, some parents do not allow their children to receive Western Education thus reducing their opportunities. 54 Some religious groups restrict women's hour of work and this retards women's occupational opportunities. 55 Religious mode of dressing constitutes an impediment to women's occupational opportunities.