Publication Patterns and Output of Women in Academia: A Case Study of the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

This paper analyses the publication patterns and output of women in academia in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria, based on an exploratory study from the gender perspective. In collecting data for the study, 200 copies of a questionnaire were distributed to female academics, randomly selected from four universities. Their responses were analysed and findings presented using tables and simple percentages. The study revealed that female publication output is very low. 98% of the respondents reported to have between 1 to 5 papers. Attendance at conferences was also reported to be low as the majority (80.5%) have attended 1-10 times in the last three years. There exists a gender inequality among academia as the majority (66%) of the respondents strongly agreed to gender devaluation and 61% to issues of female appointment. Other factors that were reported to have effect on their publication patterns are work overload, inadequate resources, lack of time, and lack of collaboration with other colleagues