Inclusive Leadership and Organisational Commitment: A Focus on the Role of
Women
1ADENIJI A. ANTONIA, 2MATTHEW A. OLUWATOYIN, 3OLAWANDE TOMIKE,
OGUEYUNGBO O. OPEYEMI1, OHUNAKIN FOLAKEMI1
1Department of Business Management, Covenant University, NIGERIA
2Department of Economics & Development Studies, Covenant University, NIGERIA
3Department of Sociology, Covenant University, NIGERIA
Abstract: - Diversity is a concept that cannot separate from the workplace setting that involves different people;
each individual is diverse in gender, ethnicity, age, education, qualification, race, and personality, to mention a few.
Individuals are members of different groups and gender, which highly influences values and self-concepts. This is
coupled with the fact that Nigeria is a patriarchal country where males hold dominant power dominate in political
leadership roles, authority, privileges and control of the property, thereby creating a glass ceiling for women in the
workplace. However, workplace gender inclusion needs to make co-workers of all races, diverse teams, gender,
ethnicities, and nationalities optimise various individuals' performance where employees feel included or excluded.
This suggests that workplace gender inclusion that carefully includes all stakeholders' contributions in the
organisation, which is a two-way relationship rather than one that depends on respect, recognition, responsiveness,
responsibility, goal achievement, and interdependency amongst individuals, is needful. Thus, this study examined
women's role in promoting inclusive leadership and organisational commitment in Nigeria, where stereotyping of
women and men's characteristics and roles exist firmly in society, using relevant literature as the research method.
The study found out that inclusive culture, open communication, favouritism and use of gendered language,
amongst others, affect the effectiveness of inclusive leadership and organisational commitment. Therefore, the
paper recommended that to get everybody included and committed irrespective of gender to optimise performance,
women's behaviour and thinking patterns must change. Women should stop seeing managerial positions as "men's",
and serve as role models to the younger generation of women by helping them understand themselves and their
rapid changing roles in the new technological age and must be resilient & courageous.
Keywords: Diversity, Gender inclusion, Workplace, Demographic variables.
Received: September 14, 2021. Revised: June 19, 2022. Accepted: June 28, 2022. Published: July 20, 2022.
1 Introduction
Organisations are becoming global with diverse
individuals and cultural backgrounds. Global leaders
have emerged by nurturing, and Organisations are
becoming global with various individuals and
cultural backgrounds. Global leaders have emerged
by promoting and developing open-mindedness,
systemic thinking, and complexity among the diverse
workforce. This trend of inclusive diversity is
anticipated by leaders in Africa and Nigeria, where
the issues of gender sensitivity are still problematic
[1]. Extant literature has indicated that inclusive
leadership create a platform for facilitating
organisational commitment. Organisational
commitment is how an employee is involved and
identifies with an organisation [2]. In addition to
achieving organisational commitment, this study also
includes women's role in promoting gender balance
in a country like Nigeria, where stereotyping of men
and women's roles strongly exists in society. Nigeria,
in many aspects, is debatably the giant of Africa,
with a culture where male holds power and
dominates parts and leadership position in
organisations despite the achievements and education
of women in the country [3]. There is high gender
discrimination in Nigeria, where women are under-
represented in leadership positions in organisations
[4].
Women have been empowered through educational
and economic empowerment.
Programs that have slowly helped them gain their
freedom, confidence, and a say in matters that
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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.96
Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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Volume 18, 2022
directly affect them. However, most women still
encounter sex discrimination and hardly break
through the "glass ceiling", separating them from top-
level managerial positions [5]. Studies have shown
some of the factors militating against women getting
to managerial positions in Nigeria, such as the
cultural patterns, social roles assigned to women and
men, male control and dominance, lack of confidence
in women, and effects of violence against women
[5;6]. The representation of women in various
management positions has not been very encouraging
at the national and sectoral levels [5]. Additionally,
[6;7] presented data only on gender construct and
managerial performance of some universities in
Ogun State. Further, [4; 7] assessed governance and
women vulnerability in the state administration. Most
of these studies focused women participation in
politics. This suggests elements of a knowledge
lacuna in the existing studies on the subject matter of
inclusive leadership and organisational commitment.
However, the current article as a conceptual paper
adopted a narrative method of discussing women's
role in promoting gender balance in the organisation,
the factors influencing the effectiveness of inclusive
leadership in the organisation and the perceived
benefits of inclusive leadership to both employees
and employers in Nigeria. Significantly, the study
focused on already existing literature.
Simultaneously, the discussion and analysis relied on
opinions in the literature from different authors that
have offered different views on inclusive leadership
and organisational commitment. Worthy of note is
that this study reviewed not less than thirty (30)
extant literature from learned scholars and seasoned
authors because of the narrative approach adopted
into the subject matter discussed. Hence, it is against
this background that this study examines the factors
influencing the effectiveness of inclusive leadership,
the role of women in promoting gender balance in the
organisation and the perceived benefits of inclusive
leadership. They are all reviewed extensively in this
paper.
2 Problem Formulation
In Nigeria’s society, it is assumed that women should
perform the feminine role. In contrast, men perform
the masculine function, and women achieve the
feminine role, affecting gender distribution across all
levels in the country [6]. Hence, the table below
depicts the gender distribution of workers in the civil
servants, parliament, and the judges and judiciary
with facts and figures.
2.1 Gender distribution in the State Civil Service
The figure below shows that in the Nigeria civil
service, 65.3 per cent of the higher positions were
held by men. In comparison, women occupy 34.7 per
cent of the senior position for the period 2010-2015.
The pattern was similar at junior positions and across
the same cadre.
Fig. 1: Summary of State Civil Servants by Type, Year and Sex
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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.96
Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
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2.1.1 Gender Representation in National
Parliament
The representation of women in the 2015 last
election in Nigeria shows us that out of the
honourable houses of the two houses, which are 469
in total, 92.5 per cent of these members are men
while only 7.5 per cent are women.
Table 1. The summary of the Seats, Held in the National Assembly
LEGISLATORS
2007
2015
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Senate
Male
100
91.7
101
92.7
100
91.7
Female
9
8.3
8
7.3
9
8.3
Total
109
100
109
100
109
100
House of Reps.
Male
334
92.8
338
93.9
337
92.8
Female
26
7.2
22
6.1
23
7.2
Total
360
100
360
100
360
100
Both Houses
Male
434
92.5
439
93.6
437
92.5
Female
35
7.5
30
6.4
32
7.5
Total
469
100
469
100
469
100
Source: National Bureau of Statistics
Table 2. The Summary of Seats Held in Local Government by Sex, Type, and Year
LEGISLATORS
2007
2011
2015
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
LGA
Chairpersons
Male
510
90.1
738
96.1
740
95.6
Female
56
9.9
30
3.9
34
4.4
Total
566
100.0
768
100.0
774
100.0
Counsellors
Male
5828
89.8
5175
87.5
6828
90.2
Female
665
10.2
738
12.5
740
9.8
Total
6,493
100.0
5,913
100.0
7,568
100.0
Source: National Bureau of Statistics
2.1.2 Gender Representation in the Judiciary
In the judiciary, the representation across both state
and federal levels is mainly male in all the 36 states
in Nigeria, with the FCT included. Male lawyers and
judges were far more than the female (Table 3).
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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.96
Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
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Table 3. Judges and Lawyers in Nigeria by Year and Sex
Year
Judges
Lawyers
Female
Male
%F
Female
Male
%F
2010
209
603
25.7
439
841
34.3
2011
204
567
26.5
425
799
34.7
2012
214
624
25.5
440
809
35.2
2013
210
589
26.3
506
840
37.6
2014
209
618
25.3
435
838
34.2
2015
212
598
26.2
490
820
37.4
Source: National Bureau of Statistics
Although the total numbers of women lawyers and
judges in 2010 increased from 25.7 per cent to 34.3.
The table also shows that in 2015, it increased from
26.2 per cent to 37.4 per cent, respectively. This is an
increment that can still improve.
2.1.3 Glass Ceiling
The glass ceiling was introduced by Marilyn Loden
in 1978 and later used at the Women's Institute for
Freedom conference held in July 1979 by Lawrence
Katherine [7]. This means barriers encountered by
women who desire to reach senior positions and
higher salary ranks in non-profit organisations,
government entity, and corporate organisations,
among others [8].
One of the early authority [9] defined the glass
ceiling as the transparent barrier and did not allow
women to rise above a particular level in
corporations. According to [10], a glass ceiling is an
apparent setback that stops women from moving
beyond certain ranks purely because they are women.
Women encounter these invisible barriers as a group
associated with the senior positions and minorities
(such as the disabled, people of a different race,
ethnic, colour) and middle-level management [7].
2.1.4 Gender and Leadership Trends in Nigeria
Gender connote different things to various persons,
but it focuses majorly on identity and roles. The
physical description of gender and the expected roles
a particular gender plays in society is crucial in
conceptualizing gender. Gender role consists of
social expectations that hinged on gender stereotypes
of how people should think and how they should act.
In the society, it is believed that men perform the
masculine role in society while women perform the
feminine function [6]. This difference between the
male and the female counterparts arose from a
culture's expectations of how individuals should
behave.
Nigeria's culture had been that of a "patriarchy".
Patriarchy is a culture that value men a lot, and
women are valued less- put differently. Men's
prestige is always up, and that of women is down.
Thus men will have power control over women. In a
matriarchy society (women take leadership roles in
families), men still control power and the myth
system [8]. Based on the above statement, it is clear
that the culture of tribes in Nigeria is a patriarchal
system. This means male domination, which makes
women constantly fight for their rights and privileges
but not with men because men have been performing
these roles for a long time of which they believe
women may not be able to serve as men. In Nigerian
culture, male dominate prominent positions in
organisations. Simultaneously, the women encounter
great difficulties moving to senior-level positions,
thereby leading to the country's glass ceiling and
gender imbalance [11].
3 Problem Solution
3.1 Benefits of Inclusive leadership to
Employers
Inclusive leadership have positive outcomes for both
individuals and the organisation as a whole, leading
to the following benefits to employers:
(a) Employee Engagement: Employee engagement
means the energy and commitment that employees
bring to the work, showing their dedication and
involvement in the organisation. Employee
engagement has three different part – absorption,
vigor and dedication [12]. The vigor is the positive
energy that is used by employee to comport their
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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.96
Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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daily work. Dedication is the intense involvement
that results in great feelings like and enthusiasm,
significance and inspiration. Lastly, absorption shows
that employees are fully immersed and concentrated
and in one’s work in a way, and it is difficult for
them to detach from the job [12].
(b) Organisational commitment: Organisational
commitment is the extent to which an employee
identifies and involves the organisation [2]. Highly
inclusive leadership that considers decision-making
and unbiased with demographic variables, such as
education, length of service, age, and gender, leads to
employee commitment to the organisation.
(c) Diverse talent attraction and retention: Any
organisation with a reputation for inclusiveness
gradually turns into a magnet attracting top, diverse
talent in the market [13]. There is greater diversity in
Nigeria today by ethnicity, race and gender than five
or ten years ago. However, organisations that put in
place inclusive leadership tends to attract great talent
and keep them [14].
3.1.2 Benefits of Inclusive Leadership to the
Employees
One of the fundamental reasons organisations shift
from other forms of leadership to inclusive leadership
is the creativity and innovation that comes with
diverse people in the organisation [15;11].
(a) Job satisfaction and fulfilment: Job satisfaction is
how the employee feels about the organisation. The
appearance of job satisfaction shows how much an
employee experiences pleasures in the organisational
context. It is the reflection of good and inclusive
leadership in the organization [16].
(b) Innovation: This is the promotion, development
and implementation of the new idea. The vital role of
leadership in innovation cannot be overemphasized
[17] when leaders recognize the efforts of the
employee’s in risky and uncertain and situations and
provide the essential work-related resources that will
significantly lead to employees’ innovation.
3.2 Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of
Inclusive Leadership in the Organisation
Extant literature has often reiterated the significant
factors affecting the effectiveness of inclusive
leadership. One of these studies' most identified point
is open communication between employers and
employees in organisations in Nigeria [14; 5].
(a) Inclusive Culture: This is socialised through
social group shared values that, in turn, plays an
essential role in an employee's cognitive, emotional
and social functioning [18]. Consequently, inclusive
culture is a fundamental cause of individual
perceptions towards others and themselves. For
organisations in Nigeria to change their culture, they
must ensure inclusion is part of the organisation's
overall strategic plan [5].
(b)Open Communication: Leaders usually have
more information than a normal average employee
[19]. Non-inclusive leaders selectively share
information with only certain members of the team,
which leads to dissension. Transparent
communication is essential to having a highly
effective team. The more leaders in organisations
share, the better aligned the team will be, and the
more effective inclusive leadership will be in
organisations [6].
(c) Avoid Playing Favoritism: Nearly everyone has
the beloved go-to person they share information with,
asks advice from, and leads projects. An inclusive
leader must keep a watch on this behaviour.
Favoritism can act as a de-motivator to inclusive
leadership, decrease morale, increase attrition and
dampen performance, especially in a country like
Nigeria organisations, where favoritism is high [1].
3.3 Gender Balance
Organisations are increasingly recognising the
essence of remedying the imbalances in gender by
ensuring that many women are promoted and
retained in leadership positions. Despite these
widespread commitments to women’s promotion and
attainment in a leadership position, it is clear that
much progress needs to be made as men still
dominate leadership positions in the corporate world.
Women must always demand their rights and
sometimes struggle to survive without men’s
threatening them with domination [24]. Research has
proven that behaviours more frequently used by
women who get to managerial positions significantly
impact organisational commitment [25: 19].
3.3.1 Role of Women in Promoting Gender
Balance
Biologically men and women differ from each other,
even though society and culture strengthen and
sharpen gender roles. Men’s traditional role is to
support their family, while women’s role is to keep
their home and family. Men are naturally considered
more aggressive and women more nurturing than
men. Although different stereotypes of men’s and
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DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.96
Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
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women’s roles exist strongly in society [20].
According to [5], women should be allowed to
combine their God’s given strengths and expertise in
a globalised world to achieve the following in the
organisation;
(a) Ethical Behaviour: According to [21], women
exhibit more ethical behaviour than their male
colleagues. This might explain why women are more
whistleblowers. Women contribute to ethical
behaviours, which are suitable for business continuity
thereby discouraging unethical business behaviours.
(b) Women demonstrate more contingent reward
behaviours: Women care more about developing
people by setting expectations and giving out
rewards. These leadership skills possessed by women
are essential to strengthen the work environment,
instil accountability, reinforce values and drive
results.
(c) Innovation: Women bring diverse perspectives,
strengths and innovation to the exercise of
leadership. This new creativity and ideas are different
from traditional ones presently in use in the
organisation. Therefore, in the context of innovation,
women need the support of leaders to get to the
senior management level in the organisation so that
creativity and innovation can be felt adequately [22].
(d) Organisations strategic advantage: Women now
have a high educational level in different parts today,
especially in Nigeria. In Nigeria, women are
overtaking the men. They have the know-how or
competence to promote the organisational strategic
advantage [23].
4 Conclusion
Gender issues help to understand prospects,
constraints, and the effects of change, affecting both
women and men. Inclusive leadership and
organisational commitment require the full and equal
participation of women and men at all levels in
various sectors of the economy. The cooperativeness,
recognition, respect, and equality between men and
women are based on strong family ties and
sustainable societies in a rapidly changing and highly
volatile world. Yet women have faced discrimination
and been excluded from leadership positions. Gender
equality will help build respect and commitment of
every member of the organisation to goal
achievement.
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Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
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Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself
This study was sponsored by Covenant University
Research Centre (CUCRID).
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_
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WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT
DOI: 10.37394/232015.2022.18.96
Adeniji A. Antonia, Matthew A. Oluwatoyin,
Olawande Tomike, Ogueyungbo O. Opeyemi,
Ohunakin Folakemi
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