ICT adoption and female employee voice: psychological safety as a mediator

Purpose This study examined the role of ICT adoption in shaping female employee voice, psychological safety, organisational learning and employee engagement within Nigeria's federal public sector, while evaluating the moderating influence of leadership support and the mediating function of psychological safety. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in technological affordance, social exchange, psychological safety and organisational learning theories, the study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey of 268 female employees across eight federal ministries, departments and agencies. Hypotheses were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings Seven of eight hypotheses were supported. ICT adoption positively influenced employee voice, psychological safety and organisational learning, with its strongest effect on organisational learning. Psychological safety partially mediated the ICT adoption–employee voice relationship. Employee voice and organisational learning independently predicted engagement. Leadership support did not significantly moderate the ICT adoption–employee voice relationship. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design limits causal inference. Future research should employ longitudinal designs, broaden sampling across government levels and explore additional mediators including self-efficacy and perceived voice utility. Practical implications Policymakers should reframe ICT investment as a gender-responsive governance strategy, accompanied by digital literacy training and institutionalised psychological safety interventions that move beyond performative supervisory compliance. Social implications ICT-enabled voice mechanisms can meaningfully reconfigure structural and psychological conditions historically marginalising female employees across Sub-Saharan Africa's public institutions. Originality/value This study provides rare empirical evidence on ICT-enabled female employee voice in a Sub-Saharan African public sector context, establishing psychological safety as a significant mediating mechanism in the ICT–voice relationship.