US-Based Nigerian Student Kicks Off Research to Advance Conversation on Igbo Women Empowerment [Video]

Genevieve Egbunno, a Nigerian PhD candidate at the University of California Merced, has embarked on groundbreaking research to explore and address critical issues affecting Igbo women.

Her work focuses on the intersections of economic empowerment, gender roles, marriage, and cultural norms within the Igbo community.

Genevieve’s passion for empowering women stems from her extensive work through Sovieve Academy, an organization she founded to support young disadvantaged girls, women, and youth.

“My goal has always been to create spaces where women and girls can thrive, regardless of cultural or systemic limitations,” she shared.

Her PhD research, part of the Interdisciplinary Humanities program, adopts an ethnographic approach to understand the dynamics within Igbo family systems.

“I’m particularly interested in how economic empowerment interacts with masculinity, marriage, and gender norms to shape outcomes for women and families,” she explained. In the summer of 2023, Genevieve conducted a pilot study …