The growing employment of women in labour force is typical
of many countries today. In Nigeria, the working class woman is the norm
despite the popular saying that “a woman’s place is in the home”. Very few
families today can do without the additional income of the wife or fulfill all
the social and economic obligation of the family solely from the husband's
income. Without the woman’s financial assistance, the family standard of
living will decline, especially in a family of many children, and this will
adversely affect the development of the country in general. Despite the fact
that women are seen in almost all the important labour force in the country,
the percentage of their participation vis-à-vis their male counterpart is still
very low. Some factors have been identified to be responsible for this trend of
event. This paper examines women participation in modern labour force and
some barriers affecting their full participation, including socio-cultural beliefs,
low educational level, high level of unemployment and under-employment
as well as certain religious practices. Recommendations are made towards
improving women participation in the Nigerian labour force. Prominent of
theses recommendations include breaking gender stereotype, discouragement
of early marriage, public enlightenment campaign, counseling programme,
and women economic empowerment programme.