Women and leadership in Nigerian market place
Date
2010-02-04T19:45:06Z
Authors
Shinaba, Julia Anashi
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Abstract
This study uses a case study to investigate the experiences of Nigerian market women as leaders. The conventional leadership literature has relied on the experiences of White women within formal educational and organizational settings, which emphasise hierarchy. formal organizational knowledge, ability to negotiate bureaucratic structures, etc. However, my observation of Nigerian market women led me to question this vision of leadership and attempt to widen it to include a more inclusive view of women's leadership. Semi-structured interviews provided the data for this inquiry. Results of the audio-taped interviews and the notes were analyzed for themes and patterns. Findings of this inquiry suggest that their leadership is collaborative, and in the context of community without which an individual is nothing. It is also influenced by gender, which shapes their relationship to household subsistence, apprenticeship, wealth that is acquired or passed down from their female relatives, and economic clout acquired through marketplace trading.
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Keywords
women merchants, leadership, Nigeria