Multilevel Analysis of State Variations in Women's Participation in Household Decision-Making in Nigeria

Abstract

Although the past two decades featured burgeoning research on issues affecting women’s lives in Nigeria, the existing studies of women’s status and decision-making autonomy in the country leave important gap in their representations of the high level of sociocultural heterogeneity in the country. Using a nationally representative survey data, the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, n = 26,306), this study examines variations in women’s decision-making autonomy across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. A series of multilevel linear regression models revealed that Nigerian women’s levels of participation in household decision-making varied significantly across states of residence. Particularly, women residing in states that practiced Sharia law reported significantly lower household decision-making autonomy relative to their counterparts in non-Sharia states. The implications of these findings for future research and stakeholders involved in women’s affairs in Nigeria are discussed.