The Protection of Women against Workplace Discrimination: Investigating the Limit of the Law in Nigeria

Abstract

Workplace discrimination is not only a form of segregation; it is an affront on the female gender. Women in employment suffer from discriminatory practices in the area of training, job opportunities, remuneration, promotion, etc. Unfortunately, not much scholarship exists on the degree of protection which the law affords a Nigerian woman against workplace discrimination on the basis of her gender. Although, gender gaps in employment exist everywhere, the disparity in Nigeria is still a serious and a growing cause for concern. The article seeks to investigate the extent to which Nigerian laws specifically protect the female gender in the workplace. The article contends that although the amendment of the Nigerian Constitution in 2010 gives power to the National Industrial Court to adjudicate cases bothering on sexual harassment, the amendments merely provide for procedural safeguard and do not make freedom from sexual harassment strictly a fundamental right. The article finds that there is no gender specific law in Nigeria which guarantees women’s right against workplace discrimination and advocates for the development of a gender-specific legal regime for the protection of women against discrimination in Nigeria.