Articles · Vol. 21 No. 2 (2017): African Sociological Review · Pages 58-80

Gender Revolution Prospects in Nigeria: Implications for Marriage Timing and Fertility

Vol. 21 · 2017 No. 2 African Sociological Review ASR

Abstract

We hypothesise that the prospects of gender revolution (GR) is rising in Nigeria and may be
swaying marriage timing and fertility. The 1990 and 2013 NDHS data and 45 in-depth
interviews were analysed. The analysis suggests that the prospects for the emergence of GR
increased between 1990 and 2013. Women with high GR status positively predicted marriage
timing in 2013 as against the inconsistent association observed in 1990. Similarly, high GR
status negatively predicted children ever born (CEB) in 2013. Also, qualitative data suggest
a general preference for completing education and participating in labour market before
marriage among women. The findings suggest that as the proportion of women with improved
GR status increases across Nigeria, delayed marriage is likely to soar and sustainable fertility
decline achieved. Social policy to accelerate female education and labour force participation
along with realistic economic recovery strategies are therefore of critical importance.

Keywords

Female education Labour force participation Age at marriage and Children ever born

Statistics

Abstract views
896
Downloads
76

Author Biographies

  • Onipede Wusu

    Department of Sociology,Faculty of Social Sciences Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria

  • Olaide A. Adedokun

    Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria

References

  1. Adedokun O. A, Oyetunji, A., Adeola, C., & Nelson-Twakor. N. N. (2000). Economic liberalisation and women in the informal sector in rural Nigeria, in D. Tsikata and J. Kerr (Eds.) .
  2. Demanding Dignity: Women Confronting Economic Reforms in Africa. Ottawa: Cathy Blacklock and Jocelyne Laforce Renouf Publishing Co., (www.nsi-ins.ca/english/pdf/gera/10e_nigeria.pdf ).
  3. Adedokun, O. A. (1999). Shifting patterns in age at first and implications for family size in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. Dakar: Union African Population Studies, No. 41, 135pp.
  4. Anugwom, E. E. (2009). Women, education and work in Nigeria. Educational Research and Review, 4(4),127-134.
  5. Asaju, K., & Adagba, O. S. (2013). Women participation in national development in Nigeria: The imperatives of education. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(1), 57-69.
  6. Becker, G. (1981). A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  7. Brewster, L. K., & Rindfuss, R. R. (2000). Fertility and women’s employment in industrialised nations. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 271-296.
  8. Brown, C. J., & Guinnane, W. T. (2002). Fertility transition in a rural, Catholic ation: Bavaria, 1880-1910. Population Studies, 56(1), 35-49.
  9. Cherlin, A. (2012). Goode’s world revolution and family pattern: A reconsideration at fifty years. Population and Development, 38(4), 577-607.
  10. Choe, M. K., Bumpass, L. L., Tsuya, N. O., & Rindfuss, R. R. (2014). Nontraditional family-related attitudes in Japan: Macro and micro determinants. Population and Development Review, 40(2),241-271.
  11. Cotter, D., Hermsen, J. M., & Vanneman, R. (2011). The end of the gender revolution? Gender role attitudes from 1977 to 2008. American Journal of Sociology, 116(4), 1-31.
  12. Davis, N. S., & Greenstein, N. T. (2009). Gender ideology: components, predictors, and consequences. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 87-105.
  13. Effoduh, J. O. (2016). The economic development of Nigeria from 1914 to 2014. Academic.edu Retrieved 29 July 2016 Esping-Andersen, G., & Billari, F. C. (2015). Re-theorizing family demographics.
  14. Population and Development Review, 41(1), 1-31.
  15. Federal Office of Statistics [Nigeria], & IRD/Macro International. (1992). Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 1990. Lagos: Federal Office of Statistics and IRD/Macro International, Inc.Fuwa, M. (2014). Work-family conflict and attitudes toward marriage. Journal of Family Issues, 35(6), 731-754.
  16. Gayawan, E., & Adebayo, S. B. (2015). Spatial analysis of women employment status in Nigeria, CBN Journal Applied Statistics, 6(2), 1-17.
  17. Gerson, K. (2009). The unfinished revolution: How a new generation is reshaping family, work and gender in America. International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 3(1), 108-112.
  18. Goldscheider, F., Bernhardt, E., & Lappegard, T. (2015). The gender revolution: Understanding changing family and demographic behaviour, Population and Development, 41(2), 207-239.
  19. Goldscheider, F., Turcotte, P., & Kopp, A. (2001). The changing determinants of women’s first union formation in industrialised countries: the United States, Canada, Italy and Sweden, GENUS, 57(3/4), 107-134.
  20. Grant, M. J., & Behrman, J. R. (2010). Gender Gaps in Educational Attainment in Less Developed Countries Population and Development, 36(1), 71-89.
  21. Isiugo-Abanihe, U. C., Ebigbola, J. A., & Adewuyi, A. A. (1993). Urban nuptiality patterns and marital fertility in Nigeria. Journal of Biosocial Sciences, 25(4), 483-498.
  22. Iweagu, H., Yeni, D. N., Nwokolo, C., & Bulus, A. (2015). Determinants of female labour force participation in Nigeria: The rural/urban dichotomy. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 5(10), 212-219.
  23. Lesthaeghe, R. (1998). The unfolding story of the second demographic transition.
  24. Population and Development, 24, 1-14.
  25. Lesthaeghe, R. (2010). The unfolding story of the second demographic transition and Development, 36(2), 211-251.

In this issue

Vol. 21 No. 2 (2017): African Sociological Review →