DETERMINANTS OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) end-point report in Nigeria revealed that despite the commitment of resources to MDGs’ implementation, the attainment of the goals, particularly goals 3, 4 and 5, was below expectations. This has been attributed, particularly in Ekiti State, to low participation of women, who were targets of these goals. Thus, raising concern about the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the State. Previous studies have focused on country-wide implementation and factors that hindered MDGs success without emphasis on goals-specific state-based assessment, and more particularly women’s participation. This study was, therefore, designed to assess the determinants of women’s participation in MDGs 3, 4 and 5, with a view to strengthening the implementation of the SDGs in Ekiti State.

Olson’s Participation Theory provided the framework, while survey design was adopted. Three Local Government Areas (LGAs) from each of the three senatorial districts and two communities across the LGA where women’s participation in the MDGs was low were purposively selected. Stratified random and quota sampling techniques were adopted in selecting female community leaders (7), market women (33), female community health extension workers (11), female artisans (21), nursing mothers (25) and pregnant women (17) across the communities. Instruments used were Women’s Participatory Roles Questionnaire (r=0.62) with four sub-scales and MDGs’ Participation Determinants Questionnaire (r=0.78) with 12 sub-scales. Three sessions each of focus group discussion and key informant interviews were held with selected women and MDGs’ desk officers, respectively. Quantitative data were analysed using percentages, Pearson’s product moment correlation and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance, while qualitative data were content analysed.

Respondents were mostly married (93.8%) from monogamous family (90.3%) and had lived in the communities for at least 10 years. Respondents had secondary school education (34.8%), first degree (32.9%), Nigeria Certificate in Education (19.7%), primary education (8.8%) and postgraduate education (2.3%), while those with no formal education were (1.6%). Women’s participation in MDGs programmes was reportedly low (34.8%). Traditional practices (r=0.64), media exposure (r=-0.45), women’s leadership (r=0.33), women’s organisation (r=0.22), multiple responsibilities (r=-0.17), educational level (r=0.14), policy climate (r=0.13), husbands’ attitude (r=-0.11), support system (r=-0.10), economic status (r=0.10), value attachment (r=-0.07) and religion (r=0.003) had positive significant relationship with women’s participation. The determinant factors had a joint significant prediction on women’s participation in MDGs (F(12; 994)=48.22; Adj. R2=0.37); accounting for 36.8% of its variance. Media exposure (β=-0.48), women’s leadership (β=0.23), policy climate (β=0.17), educational level (β=0.16), support system (β=-0.13), traditional practices (β=0.09.), economic status (β=0.05), husband‘s attitude (β=-0.04), multiple responsibilities (β=-0.03), religion (β=0.02), value attachment (β=0.01) and women’s organisation (β=0.01) contributed significantly to women’s participation in MDGs implementation. Partisan politics, neglect, non-immediate financial rewards, low economic status, low education, government insincerity and inadequate funding hindered women’s participation in MDGs programmes.

Effective women’s leadership, positive media exposure and policy climate, high educational level and favourable support system influenced women’s participation in Millennium Development Goals implementation in Ekiti State. Therefore, these factors should be taken into consideration during the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.