Fixing the Pipeline: Women’s Workforce Participation in India, Nigeria, and Kenya

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Across the Global South, women’s workforce participation continues to be shaped by structural constraints that both undervalue their labour and limit opportunities across leadership levels. Systemic barriers prevent women from advancing into leadership roles globally. Even in the United States (U.S.) and Canada, women hold merely 29 percent of C-suite roles. However, in the Global South, these barriers take different forms in each country. And that variation is exactly where the opportunity lies: because the challenges are local, the solutions can also be targeted locally.

In India, Nigeria, and Kenya, women face a common set of barriers, including overwhelming representation in informal and subsistence work, lower wages, time poverty from unpaid care, and underrepresentation in leadership. Whether it is Nigeria’s steady pipeline in law, Kenya’s near-equal entry rates in the public sector, or India’s board-level mandates, there are proven models that work.

This analysis draws on cross-country data to explore women’s participation in formal employment across the three countries – where they enter, drop off, and what explains the divergence. Private sector trends reveal structured career progression, but most women in these countries still work informally – in caregiving, agriculture, or domestic roles that remain invisible and unpaid.

Quick Comparative Glance

In all three countries, women occupy less than 30 percent of senior leadership roles. However, despite similar entry-level representation in India and Nigeria (33 percent), women in Nigeria are far more likely to advance — with 29 percent reaching the C-suite, compared to 27 percent in Kenya and just 17 percent in India, the lowest among the three.

Table 1: Pipeline Gaps: India, Nigeria, Kenya

Source: Compiled by author based on McKinsey Women in the Workplace 2025 Report: India, Nigeria, and Kenya

India

The Government of India has officially stated their ambition of achieving a 70 percent female workforce by 2047. According to the Economic Survey 2024–2025, India’s female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) has increased from 23.3 percent in 2017–18 to 41.7 percent in 2023–24. However, this rise is primarily driven by the rural women in India – their participation has soared from 24.6 percent in 2017–18 to 47.6 percent in 2023–24. Several critics attribute this rise to the inclusion of unpaid and low-paid self-employed women in rural areas, rather than to an expansion of secure, salaried jobs.

Urban India faces a fundamental challenge at the outset: increasing female participation in the workforce—a gap underscored by stark statistics.

At the heart of the problem is what has been called the ‘broken rung’ — the first critical promotion from entry-level to manager — by three McKinsey authors, Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and María del Mar Martínez in a new book, The Broken Rung. They introduce the idea of experience capital in the book — the accumulation of skills and networks over time. Women miss this chance early in their careers, and the gap only widens.

Men are 2.4 times more likely to be promoted from entry to manager roles. Furthermore, junior-level women employees are also 1.3 times more likely to leave their jobs than men, often owing to slow advancement, burnout, or exclusion.

Unlike in Kenya or Nigeria, India’s pipeline leaks early. As highlighted in Table 1, women hold 33 percent of entry-level roles, but only 24 percent of manager positions, and just 17 percent reach the C-suite. Men are 2.4 times more likely to be promoted from entry to manager roles. Furthermore, junior-level women employees are also 1.3 times more likely to leave their jobs than men, often owing to slow advancement, burnout, or exclusion. As women progress from manager to Vice President (VP) and senior VP, the decrease in representation is smaller; however, by that stage, many women have already left the workforce. Board-level numbers are stronger (20 percent), but that’s largely driven by regulation. The Companies Act of 2013 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandate at least one woman director for listed and public companies.

Despite high rates of education, India’s FLFPR remains structurally low. Women constitute nearly 48 percent of enrolled students in the country. The problem is that they do not get the chance to build experience capital. A recent study conducted by Aon highlights this clear disconnect: over 90 percent of women state they are highly motivated and engaged, yet leadership representation remains low. Companies that invest in inclusive promotion pathways are far more likely to unlock this missed potential.

Private sector norms and care burdens restrict women’s participation levels significantly.

Kenya

Kenya begins with a relatively strong performance. Women hold 40 percent of roles in the private sector and 46 percent in the public sector. However, the momentum fades rather quickly. In the private sector, women face a ‘double dip’ challenge: a broken rung at the first promotion and another drop before reaching senior leadership. While public sector promotions are often tenure-based and offer more stability, private sector norms and care burdens restrict women’s participation levels significantly. Several senior women cite the opportunity costs of seeking promotions: networking versus parenting, upskilling versus unpaid care, and relocation versus staying rooted. These challenges lead to slowdowns mid-career and, eventually, exits.

In the C-suite, women’s participation share drops to 27 percent. Kenya proves that parity at entry is not enough, and support must continue through mid-levels, especially for working mothers.

Nigeria

Nigeria presents a curious contrast. Women make up nearly 50 percent of the labour force, but only 33 percent of formal entry-level roles. Entry-level gaps remain entrenched, shaped by deep-rooted beliefs about gendered norms, opaque hiring processes, and informal gatekeeping continue to shape outcomes.

Women hold 29 percent of roles from manager to C-suite, with the legal sector being the standout. It shows near-parity across the pipeline driven by transparent hiring, structured advancement, and an emphasis on credentials. Other sectors, especially finance and healthcare, fall short.

At the C-suite level, a 29 percent representation is promising. This is attributed to transparent promotion systems and fair metrics for women’s ability to rise to senior leadership roles.

India must fix the broken rung and support women at the first step up. Kenya must reduce mid-career drop-offs. Nigeria must expand access to formal roles from the outset.

Shared Solutions

Across the three countries, systemic bottlenecks persist. However, the points of failure vary.  This is where the real opportunity lies. In the context of Nigeria’s legal sector, women maintain near parity across the corporate pipeline from entry-level to the C-suite. McKinsey’s research attributes this to greater formalisation of hiring and promotion practices, as well as a clearer, skills-based progression path. Kenya’s public sector demonstrates that near-equal entry into management is possible with tenure-based systems. India’s regulatory push for women on boards has opened one door for representation at the top.

India must fix the broken rung and support women at the first step up. Kenya must reduce mid-career drop-offs. Nigeria must expand access to formal roles from the outset.

Real progress in women's economic participation requires specific solutions that address women's situations at home, school, or work. The Global South does not need a one-size-fits-all model.

Solutions cannot simply be national—they must be rooted in organisational overhaul. Companies across the Global South can:

• Invest in mentorship and sponsorship: Companies with formal mentorship programmes are 33 percent more likely to retain and promote women.
• Normalise flexible work: Research from the University of Texas, Austin, shows that remote and hybrid work help women stay employed while managing care. When both partners work remotely, men share more of the unpaid load, therefore allowing women to participate more fully in paid work.
• Partner with universities: Women often outperform men at the tertiary levels, but few make it to senior leadership. To unlock women’s potential, companies must build stronger school-to-work bridges through internships, career fairs, and targeted certification programs, especially in fields where women are well represented in education but are missing in the workforce.
• Invest in the ‘care economy’: The care economy includes both paid and unpaid work that supports children, the elderly, the sick, and others who need care. Investing in care lifts the invisible burden of work on women. It frees up women’s time, expands paid job opportunities, and grows the care sector itself. A recent Goldman Sachs report estimates that spending just 2 percent of India’s Gross Domestic Product on care infrastructure could create over 11 million jobs, with up to 74 percent going to women.

Real progress in women's economic participation requires specific solutions that address women's situations at home, school, or work. The Global South does not need a one-size-fits-all model. With India, Nigeria, and Kenya bearing the testimony, there are models to learn from, gaps to target, and solutions within reach.

Upasana Sharma is a social impact strategist and founder of Zubaan, a platform on gender and work in South Asia, with experience across global research, philanthropy, and strategy consulting.

• Gender
• Africa
• India
• female labor force participation rate
• female labour force participation rate in india
• women in leadership roles
• women of global south
• women participation global south
• women's economic participation

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