Coping Strategies of Women in Ilorin Metropolis and Asa Local Government Area of Nigeria During Period of Economic Challenges

Period of Economic challenges are often induced by government policies, actions, and calamities, which result in the loss of jobs, increased foreign exchange rates, and inflation. This study identified, examined, and ranked the different coping strategies adopted by women in the Ilorin metropolis and Asa LGA. We adopted a cross-sectional survey method using a structured questionnaire and a semi-structured interview checklist. These instruments were administered through multi-staged sampling techniques. The study observed that 87%, 79%, 68%, 56%, 47%, and 41% of respondents adopted cost-cutting or reduction, debt or credit purchases, spiritual solutions, sales of landed and valuable properties, negative or illegal solutions, and more income-generating activities, including seeking assistance from friends and relations as coping strategies, respectively. Similarly, the study also indicated that there is a statistical difference in the coping strategies between young and old, employed and unemployed, low- and high-income women, as well as rural and urban women. On the other hand, there is no statistical difference in the coping strategies between employed and self-employed women. The study recommends that governments at all levels, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), should embark on the provision of social and economic infrastructure as well as create an enabling environment for MSMEs to thrive to ensure wealth creation and employment generation for women. Future research efforts could extend the study to include other geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Panel studies and other econometric models could be applied when analyzing data to ensure better insight.