Beyond Dreams: GGA Survey Reveals Key Barriers to Nigerian Girls’ Career Aspirations

A young girl’s career aspirations often begin with a dream of what she hopes to become. But turning that dream into a clear and achievable path requires more than ambition. It involves understanding her interests, identifying available opportunities, accessing the right information and guidance, and navigating the barriers that may stand in her way.

Good Governance Africa (GGA) Girl Child Dialogues pre-event surveys in 2025 and 2026 provided an opportunity for participating girls to share the challenges shaping their career aspirations. While the 2025 survey presented predefined options, including lack of information, financial constraints, family responsibilities, limited support or mentorship, and uncertainty about where to begin, the 2026 survey adopted an open-ended approach, asking participants: “What are some challenges or limitations they face when thinking about future career?”

Together, the findings show that choosing a career goes beyond identifying a desired profession. Girls also need access to reliable information, mentorship, financial resources, academic support and the confidence to pursue their ambitions. This article explores these challenges and their implications for schools, families and policymakers.

Survey Findings

The 2025 survey received 39 responses, with participants allowed to select more than one challenge. The most common concern was not knowing where to start, identified by 23 respondents (59.0 per cent). Financial difficulties followed, cited by 17 respondents (43.6 per cent). Other concerns included lack of support or mentorship (nine respondents, 23.1 per cent), lack of information (eight, 20.5 per cent), family responsibilities (six, 15.4 per cent) and transport-related difficulties (three, 7.7 per cent).

The 2026 survey recorded 61 entries, of which 54 contained responses while seven were left blank. Unlike the previous year, participants were invited to describe their challenges in their own words. An initial thematic analysis identified fear, anxiety, self-doubt and confidence-related concerns as the most frequently raised issues, appearing in 18 responses.

These were followed by career clarity, choice and uncertainty about where to start (14 responses). Financial, economic and opportunity constraints featured in approximately nine responses, as did concerns about information, guidance, mentorship and communication. Family expectations, parental support and social discouragement appeared in seven responses, while six raised issues relating to education, academic preparedness or skills.

Across both survey rounds, uncertainty about how to navigate career pathways emerged as a recurring concern. While the 2025 findings highlighted practical barriers, particularly not knowing where to start and financial difficulties, the 2026 responses brought greater attention to fear, anxiety and self-doubt. Taken together, the findings suggest that supporting girls’ career aspirations requires addressing both the practical obstacles they face and the confidence and guidance they need to pursue their ambitions.

A girl may aspire to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer or entrepreneur without knowing the subjects, qualifications, institutions or alternative pathways involved. Career guidance should therefore provide practical information on educational requirements, subject combinations, admission processes, vocational training and skills. It should also begin before students face major educational decisions, rather than only when they are preparing for university admission.

Financial difficulties

Financial constraints emerged as a recurring challenge in both surveys. In 2025, 17 respondents (43.6 per cent) identified financial difficulties, making this the second most frequently cited concern. The issue also featured in the 2026 responses, with participants pointing to difficult economic conditions, inadequate financial support and limited opportunities.

While one respondent linked her uncertainty to the future of Nigeria’s economic situation, another expressed concern about the availability of opportunities. Others simply identified the need for financial support.

Career guidance should therefore go beyond explaining educational and professional pathways to helping girls understand how to finance them. For those seeking admission to public tertiary institutions, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the federal government’s interest-free student loan scheme, is one potential source of support.

Under its current framework, the scheme covers approved institutional charges paid directly to institutions, with an optional monthly upkeep allowance of ₦20,000 paid to beneficiaries. Repayment is scheduled to begin two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), with deductions capped at 10 per cent of a graduate’s gross income.

However, NELFUND should be presented as one financing option, not a universal solution. It is a loan that must eventually be repaid and is designed for students in public tertiary institutions and may not be suitable for every family or career pathway. Girls should also be made aware of alternatives such as scholarships, bursaries, vocational and technical training, community or employer sponsorship, and family support. Schools and youth organisations can help by providing reliable information and guiding girls and their parents towards options that best suit their circumstances.

Government policies that improve access to quality secondary education, affordable tertiary education and relevant technical and vocational training are essential to ensuring that a girl’s financial circumstances do not unnecessarily limit her career choices or prevent her from pursuing her ambitions.

The missing link

In 2025, nine respondents (23.1 per cent) cited a lack of support or mentorship, and eight (20.5 per cent) cited a lack of information. In 2026, some participants referred explicitly to inadequate career information, insufficient guidance and a lack of mentorship.

Mentorship bridges the gap between knowing what a profession is and understanding what pursuing it involves. A student interested in architecture may know that architects design buildings but not understand the training and professional registration required. Mentors can explain these realities.

Mentorship should also reach beyond traditionally prominent occupations, connecting girls with women in science, technology, agriculture, education, public administration, creative industries, sports, manufacturing and business. Structured mentorship programmes can begin in secondary school rather than waiting until university.

Recommendations

A recurring finding across both surveys is that many girls face uncertainty about how to translate their career aspirations into achievable pathways. Not knowing where to start was the top concern in 2025 (59.0 per cent) and emerged again in 2026.

Schools and youth organisations should therefore introduce structured career guidance early, before major subject-selection and university decisions, with clear information on subject combinations, admission routes, vocational alternatives and the real cost of qualifying.

This should be paired with mentorship that starts in secondary school. Financing advice should present NELFUND as one option among several, alongside scholarships, bursaries, technical training and sponsorship. Girls and parents should also be encouraged to confirm current terms on the official portal.

Programmes should also provide opportunities to build confidence, allowing girls to discuss their goals and hear from women who have faced setbacks They should also link guidance to academic support, particularly in mathematics and other subjects girls may assume are out of reach.

Beyond individual interventions, policymakers need to ensure that quality secondary education, affordable tertiary education and technical training remain accessible, so that a girl’s economic circumstances do not narrow her choices before she has had the chance to explore them.