The McKinsey Women in Workplace 2025 report has revealed that women hold only one in three entry-level roles in Nigeria’s formal private sector.
The report equally discloses that women who rise to senior roles are 30% more likely to exit within a year.
And this is often due to lack of support and rigid workplace policies.
While 77% of CEOs cite gender equity as a priority, only 33% of companies track promotion data by gender.
These figures show that progress has stalled despite a decade of gender inclusion pledges.
To address this, Gatefield Impact Foundation, a public strategy and advocacy firm advancing equity through narrative, policy, and systems change, has launched a new campaign dubbed, “Fair Start”.
Fair Start seeks to get Nigerian employers to take bold, measurable steps to close the gender gap and dismantle systemic barriers in the workplace.
Level the field
The launching on Africa’s Women’s Day was held in Lagos’ financial district,
The campaign featured a bicycle-powered storytelling activation is also amplified online through #LevelTheField.
The launch featured prominent Nigerian professionals and business leaders, spotlighting the persistent exclusion of women from entry-level roles to the executive suite.
Mayowa Kuyoro, Partner at McKinsey & Company Nigeria said: “One of the things that we need to do in our corporate workplaces in Nigeria is to build systems that help to retain women.”
For Amina Oyagbola, Board Chair, Afrobarometer, “We know what works, now we need leadership. Track gender outcomes, publish the data, [and] build systems that include, rather than exclude.”
Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, submitted, “The evidence is clear. Policies alone do not level the field. Systems do.
“We need to build systems that track gender data from entry level to executive roles.”
Something more worrisome
Fola Olatunji-David, Partner, KickOff Africa pointed attention to a more worrisome dimension.
“Women aren’t just missing at the top, they are being filtered out before they even get the chance.”
Fair Start seeks employers to hire more women, especially into entry- and mid-level roles to strengthen leadership pipelines.
They are also to build structured promotion pathways with mentorship, sponsorship, and transparent advancement criteria.
The campaign also wants employers to track gender-disaggregated data on hiring, promotions, and exits—and act on the findings.
It equally seeks the design of inclusive workplaces with caregiver-friendly and flexible policies while also making leadership accountable by linking gender equity to performance reviews and executive KPIs.
Speaking on the initiative, Narrative Practice Lead at Gatefield, Christinah Akintoye, said, “We created Fair Start to show what’s possible when equity is embedded by design, not added on as an afterthought.
“This is an invitation to employers to lead boldly, measure what matters, and unlock the full value of talent,”
The campaign is powered by validator voices, public pledges, and digital momentum.
The Lagos activation invited employers in Nigeria’s corporate capital to make public commitments, while social media and validator call-out videos continue to drive engagement nationwide.
