Workforce Diversity and Equity in Career Advancement as Determinants of Service Delivery Effectiveness in the Public Service (Published)
This study examined the effects of workforce diversity and equity in career advancement on service delivery effectiveness in Ministry of Interior, Nigeria. A descriptive quantitative survey design was adopted, with the target population comprising 8,450 employees of Ministry of Interior, Nigeria across headquarters in Abuja and state commands in the North-Central geopolitical zone. Applying Yamane’s formula, a minimum sample of 382 was determined and stratified random sampling was employed proportionally across grade levels and locations, with 370 valid respondents providing usable data for analysis. Structured online questionnaires validated through expert review and pilot testing achieved Cronbach’s alpha values of .814 for workforce diversity and .841 for equity in career advancement, both exceeding the .70 reliability threshold. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression techniques via IBM SPSS version 27.0. Results revealed that workforce diversity (β = .166, t = 3.373, p = .001) and equity in career advancement (β = .272, t = 5.277, p < .001) each significantly and positively predicted service delivery effectiveness. The combined two-predictor model explained 34.2% of variance in service delivery effectiveness (R² = .342, F = 95.68, p < .001). Equity in career advancement emerged as the stronger predictor, a finding particularly consequential given that equity simultaneously recorded the lowest perceived level among all study variables (M = 2.987). The study concludes that demographic heterogeneity and career fairness constitute complementary but distinct performance drivers in Nigeria’s federal security institutions and advances recommendations targeting both diversity management and promotion system reform.
Keywords: Resource Based View Theory, equity in career advancement, federal character principle, ministry of interior Nigeria, public sector performance, service delivery effectiveness, workforce diversity