Negotiating gender norms: exploring the lived experience of women commercial drivers in Lagos, Nigeria

In Nigeria, women’s participation in commercial driving reflects evolving gender norms, with multiple social and economic factors encouraging entry despite existing cultural stereotypes. This study examines the lived experiences (motivation to enter, challenges, coping strategies, and future aspirations) of women operating “Keke Maruwa” across selected locations in two local government areas of Lagos State – female commercial drivers. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews and analysed via narrative analysis. Findings show that entry into commercial driving is driven by economic survival, livelihood disruption, social influence, and limited alternatives. Participants face institutional harassment, workplace discrimination, social stigma, and occupational stress. To cope, they learn to adjust emotionally, depend on informal support systems, and position their occupation as more moral than other alternatives. Future aspirations of female commercial drivers reflect a temporary phase rather than a long-term occupational path, indicating temporal, negotiated, and practice-based shifts in gender norms around commercial driving in Lagos, Nigeria, which this study conceptualises as “survival-driven normative change”. The study recommends gender-sensitive transport policies and improved regulation of transport law enforcement.