Women in the Development Process: Occupational Mobility of Female Migrants in Cities in Nigeria

Abstract

This article explores changes in occupational status of female migrants in Nigeria. The data are based on migration histories of individuals in Ibadan, Benin, and Kano. I explore three aspects of the complex relationship between migration and occupational status: spatial experiences, types of skills brought to the cities, and occupational change experienced within the cities. The analyses show that migrants came from both rural and urban origins. In two cities, interurban movements were more common than rural-to-urban. Interurban male migrants were more likely to arrive in the cities with established urban skills than rural-urban migrants. Women, both interurban movers and rural- urban migrants, arrived with either no occupational experience or only informal work experience such as farming or trading. While most men moved from traditional to modern sector jobs, most women’s occupational shifts were within the traditional sector or from not working to traditional and modern sector jobs. Overall, the analyses suggest that women do not gain in occupational status as do men in the three cities. These differences may be influenced by factors such as education, marriage, childbearing, and the community’s view of the woman’s economic role in society.