Effect of gender on performance of food industry in Nigeria

Abstract

In many parts of the world, industries are more led by male than their female counterpart, but food industries are usually held by female. A widely accepted view is that female leads more in food industry and performs better than their male counterparts. This study therefore focused on effect of gender on performance of food industry in Nigeria, specifically to analyze total factor productivity (TFP) of food industry; determine factor influencing their productivity; and identify gender with better performance and or leads more in food industries. Cross sectional data was used, sourced from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (ES) 2014 and the data set covers food industries. The study included 243 male participants and 29 female participants, with a total of 272 participants. Descriptive statistics, and multiple linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between performance of food industry and gender in Nigeria. The results revealed that higher employment levels are associated with greater productivity in the food industry 0.889 (0.029). There is no significant relationship between capital investment and sales -0.025 (0.122) and likewise changes in capital investment do not strongly influence sales in the analysis. The mean Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for the male participants was 620.720 (SD=5543.228), while for the female participants, it was 107.860 (SD=569.339). The mean work experience for both genders was similar, with males at 12.216 years (SD=9.449) and females at 11.724 years (SD=9.149) while the mean capacity, representing the potential output, was slightly higher for females (76.138, SD=28.285) compared to males (72.877, SD=27.806). Based on the significant difference in mean TFP between male and female, the study recommended that policy makers should focus on initiatives that promote gender equality and inclusivity in the food industry. Also, given the wide range of TFP values for female participants, it is essential to invest in training and skill development programs to uplift the productivity of women in the food industry and such programs should target both technical and managerial skills.