Women in Leadership and Organisational Performance in Ebonyi State Public Sector Institutions

The systematic under-representation of women in leadership positions across Nigerian public sector institutions continues to generate both equity and performance concerns, given emerging evidence that gender-diverse leadership teams produce superior organisational outcomes. This study examines the relationship between women's representation in leadership and organisational performance in Ebonyi State public sector institutions. The research is anchored on Social Role Theory, which explains how societal expectations of gender roles shape leadership access and behavioural expressions of authority in institutional contexts. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population comprised 512 senior and middle management staff across seven selected ministries, departments, and agencies in Ebonyi State. A sample of 222 respondents was drawn using stratified random sampling, with deliberate oversampling of female respondents to ensure adequate gender representation. Data were gathered via structured questionnaires and analysed using regression analysis and ANOVA. Findings indicate that ministries and agencies with higher proportions of women in senior management roles record significantly better performance scores on public service delivery indices, including timeliness, citizen satisfaction, and budget utilisation rates. The study further reveals that collaborative decision-making, which women leaders in the study disproportionately favoured, mediates the positive relationship between female leadership representation and institutional performance. It is concluded that deliberate gender-inclusive leadership policies produce measurable performance dividends in the Ebonyi State public sector. The study recommends that the state government implement gender affirmative action targets for director and above positions and establish leadership mentoring programmes for women in the civil service.

Keywords: Women in leadership, organisational performance, Ebonyi State, Social Role Theory, public sector