Stepping up Agenda 2030 for the Attainment of Gender Parity and Sustainable Development in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: A Case Study

The most important determinant of a country’s competitiveness is its human talent — the skills and productivity of its workforce. The strongest, safest and most prosperous societies are those in which women are empowered and the genders are more equal. Gender equality is not a women or men issue—it is a human rights issue. Sequel to the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights by UN in 1948, education became a veritable implementation tool for promoting and achieving gender equity, social justice, poverty reduction and the overall advancement of women. This has opened the door of university education to a lot of women in Nigeria. As a widely recognized basic human right which bestows on women and men a disposition for lifelong acquisition of knowledge, values, attitudes, competence and skills, university education has also paved way for an increasing number of women into academic positions. In spite of these attainments, the World Economic Forum predicts in its Global Gender Gap Report 2014 that it will take until 2133 to achieve gender parity in all spheres of life, implying one hundred and seventeen (117) years until gender parity! The implementation of great decisions for sustainable development in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions cannot wait till 2133. Stepping up actions geared towards eliminating gender disparities in leadership and decision-making as well as building bridges to leadership for women will help to build healthier higher educational institutions, society and culture, and most likely lead to the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGS) by 2020 or 2030. Thus, showcasing the achievements of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, Ekiti State University, Nigeria, this paper posits that the time for accelerating gender equality in universities for sustainable development is now.