Nigeria’s creator economy looks vibrant from the outside. Every day, millions of young Nigerians scroll through TikTok skits, Instagram Reels, YouTube vlogs, and Twitter threads, engaging with creators who are shaping digital culture. Women are highly visible in this ecosystem, dominating niches like fashion, lifestyle, education, and even comedy. Yet when it comes to earnings, the story changes.
Our national survey reveals a troubling divide: although women make up nearly half of Nigerian creators, only 35% of those earning more than ₦500,000 in the last six months were female. In other words, visibility is not translating into equal financial value. This mirrors global trends but is even sharper in Nigeria, where cultural expectations, brand biases, and safety concerns create structural barriers.
So, why does this gap exist, and what can be done to bridge it?
The Numbers Behind the Gap
Globally, studies point to the same pattern. Linktree’s 2023 Creator Report found that male creators were more likely to earn over $100,000 annually, largely due to better access to sponsorships and brand deals. In Nigeria, this inequality is magnified by three realities:
- Underpricing of women’s niches: Fashion, lifestyle, and beauty, fields where women are more visible, are often dismissed as “soft” compared to comedy or tech.
- Brand bias: Many Nigerian brands still prioritize male influencers for big-ticket campaigns, assuming they have “more authority” or broader appeal.
- Social pressures: From family expectations to safety concerns, female creators often face more constraints in fully committing to content creation as a career.
Stories From The Ground
The lived experiences of female creators illustrate how deeply this gap is felt. One Lagos-based influencer recounted: “I’ve had brands tell me they’ll pay a male skit-maker ₦300k but offer me ₦100k for the same job because ‘my niche is softer.’”
Another creator noted how she was offered free clothes in exchange for full-day photoshoots and promotional posts. “They act like they’re doing me a favor by giving me exposure,” she said. “But I know the same brand is paying male creators real money.”
These practices discourage women from scaling their content into a sustainable career. Many end up juggling other jobs, reducing the time they can invest in growing their creative businesses.
The Hidden Costs of Bias
This gap is not just unfair to women, it also weakens the ecosystem as a whole. Female creators often generate higher engagement rates and deeper audience trust, especially in niches like lifestyle and education where relatability is key. When brands undervalue this influence, they lose opportunities to connect authentically with consumers.
There’s also a broader cultural impact. By underpaying women, the industry reinforces outdated gender roles, signaling that creativity and labor from women are worth less. This deters young female creators from entering the space, limiting diversity and innovation in the long run.
What Needs to Change
Bridging the gender pay gap in Nigeria’s creator economy requires effort from both creators and brands:
For female creators:
- Set rate cards and stick to them: Define your worth based on engagement and outcomes, not just follower count.
- Document value with data: Share analytics, including audience demographics, conversion rates, to make your case undeniable.
- Join communities: Collaborating and benchmarking with other female creators helps resist underpricing and strengthens bargaining power.
For brands and platforms:
- Commit to pay equity: Ensure that compensation is tied to reach and impact, not gender or niche stereotypes.
- Create transparent pricing guidelines: Brands should publish clear criteria for how they price campaigns.
- Support women in smaller cities: By decentralizing campaigns beyond Lagos and Abuja, more female creators can access opportunities without additional barriers.
Toward Equity and Recognition
The Nigerian creator economy is growing, but growth without equity risks reinforcing the same inequalities it should be breaking. Women are not just participants in this ecosystem, they are trendsetters, educators, entertainers, and entrepreneurs. Their visibility is already undeniable; what they deserve now is value that matches their influence.
As long as brands continue to treat women’s work as “soft” or secondary, the gender pay gap will persist. But if platforms, agencies, and creators themselves commit to fair compensation practices, Nigeria can lead by example in showing how a young, digital-first economy can also be inclusive and just.
Because at the end of the day, visibility without value is exploitation, and the future of Nigeria’s creator economy depends on closing that gap.