Social Capital, Networks, and Career Advancement Among Women Managers in Nigerian Professional Services Firms

This study empirically investigates the role of social capital and professional networking in the career advancement of women managers in Nigerian professional services firms, including law firms, audit firms, and management consulting companies, in Lagos and Abuja. Despite women constituting over 40 percent of entry-level professionals in Nigeria's services sector, they remain significantly underrepresented at partner and senior management levels, suggesting structural career barriers that social capital dynamics may help explain. A quantitative analytical design with SEM was employed, drawing data from 215 women managers at varying career stages. Putnam's Social Capital Theory and Burt's Structural Hole Theory provide the theoretical scaffolding, supplemented by recent gender and career literature. Findings confirm that bridging social capital, operationalized as connections across organizational and sectoral boundaries, is a significantly stronger predictor of career advancement than bonding capital, operationalized as strength of ties within the organization. Women who participate in industry associations and cross-firm professional networks report faster promotions and higher compensation growth than those whose networks are inward-looking. The study fills a research gap: existing Nigerian career studies have not applied structural hole analysis to explain the differential network returns available to women at different managerial levels. Senior women's mentorship of junior women within professional firms is identified as a strategic mechanism for social capital transmission across generational cohorts. Recommendations include firm-funded participation in industry networks, cross-firm women's mentorship programs, and LinkedIn corporate network literacy training. Keywords: social capital, professional networks, women managers, career advancement, professional services Nigeria