Instagram and Leadership Empowerment of Women in Lagos, Nigeria

Instagram has evolved from a photo-sharing application into a strategic space for self-presentation, professional visibility, and social influence. Yet existing research on women’s empowerment through social media largely focuses on commercial outcomes, with limited attention to leadership, voice, and community-building in specific urban African contexts. This study examined how women in Lagos, Nigeria, use Instagram to build and maintain personal brands, cultivate and sustain communities, and empower themselves and other women. Guided by Feminist Media Theory and Self-Presentation Theory, the study adopted a qualitative design. Data were collected through four Focus Group Discussions with 23 purposively selected women who actively use Instagram for leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship, advocacy, and personal branding, and were analysed thematically. The findings show that participants deliberately use Instagram to communicate professional identity through educational, value-driven, and authentic content, and that Reels, Stories, polls, and direct messages strengthen their reach and engagement. Community building emerged as a relational process rooted in trust, responsiveness, and consistent value delivery rather than follower counts. Participants’ empowerment strategies included knowledge sharing, mentorship, authentic storytelling, representation, advocacy, and practical opportunities such as business audits, collaborations, and exhibitions. Importantly, participants saw Instagram as an amplifier of leadership identities that are grounded offline in character, competence, and service, not as the source of those identities. The study concludes that Instagram is a catalyst for women’s leadership empowerment in Lagos and recommends that women leaders prioritise authenticity, use interactive features intentionally, engage in mentorship, and build real-world capacity alongside their digital presence.