Ambition Aspiration from Acquiring Becoming

Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship
v.10 no.3 (Winter 2009)


Women Librarians in Nigerian Universities: Their Status, Occupational Characteristics, and Development
Chinwe M.T. Nwezeh
Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Abstract
This paper investigates the current status and occupational characteristics of professional academic women librarians in Nigeria. This paper also discusses the concept of gender participation in librarianship and the effects on the profession with respect to females. General obstacles faced by females in librarianship are examined. The findings reveal that despite some cultural traits that still affect the woman’s position, women academic librarians in Nigeria can still advance to any height in the profession. This study shows that they do not experience any form of discrimination from their male counterparts in terms of remuneration or career development.

Introduction
Discrimination against women has been a long-standing issue with which society continues to grapple. As soon as you are born a woman, people start limiting your possibilities, regardless of what qualities you display (Abiola, 2004). It is therefore not in dispute that from the beginning of civilization, women have suffered subjugation, degradation, oppression and all forms of inhuman treatment on account of their gender. This is especially so in Africa where gender roles are distinct. The women are occupied with domestic responsibilities, which typically involve household chores and caring for the home (Majanja and Kiplang’at, 2003). The status of women, including the different professions, has been a cause of serious concern in every culture and every climate through the years (Falaiye, 2004). In the past, particularly in Africa, more emphasis was placed on educating the male child than the female child. Even when a female child grew up and wanted to take on a job, she was left with limited choices....