‘Sex-for-Jobs’ To Be Criminalized

President John Dramani Mahama has called for a new law to criminalise the demand for romantic or sexual relationships in exchange for jobs, describing the practice as unacceptable and exploitative.

He made the call on Saturday, May 2, 2026, during a town hall meeting at Adweso in Koforidua, marking the end of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour of the Eastern Region. Speaking to a large audience, the President expressed concern about how some people in positions of power take advantage of job seekers, especially women.

In a video shared on X, President Mahama strongly criticised the behaviour.

“A lot of our girls face a lot of discrimination when they are looking for jobs. One of the worst things, and I think we should pass a bill to make it very punishable, is that sometimes if the employer or the person responsible for employing is a male, they demand some romantic relationship before they give them jobs.

It is unacceptable. It must stop. And I think that we must take a firm line on that. I mean, if anybody does that, there should be a law that deals with them very strongly”, he stressed.

He explained that such actions strip people, especially young women of their dignity and deny them fair opportunities. According to him, Ghana must take a clear and firm stand by passing a law that will punish offenders and protect victims.

The issue was raised by a female student from Ghana Senior High School in Koforidua, who expressed concerns about inequality in the job market. She also mentioned the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, as an example of what women can achieve when given the chance.

Responding to her concern, President Mahama agreed that discrimination against women still exists and must be addressed. He added that women are equally capable of performing in all fields and should be given fair opportunities.

The President shared his personal experience during visits to road construction sites under the Big Push programme, where he has seen female engineers working actively. He said he admires their efforts and often takes photos with them to encourage them.

“I find it very admirable when I see the girls doing those kinds of jobs,” he said.

Beyond addressing workplace exploitation, President Mahama also reaffirmed his government’s commitment to gender equality. He pointed to the Affirmative Action law as a key tool in achieving this goal. According to him, the government is working towards ensuring equal representation of men and women in public appointments by the end of 2028.

“We are going to work to make sure that we achieve the targets. It says that in public appointments by the end of 2028, we should achieve 50-50 parity of men and women in public appointment. It is a tough call, but we will work at it,” he said.

The call for stronger laws against sexual exploitation is not new. Back in October 2019, the then Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Adwoa Safo, also highlighted the need for stricter legislation to address sexual harassment in Ghana. She stressed that such issues go beyond tertiary institutions and require nationwide attention and legal action.

“I strongly believe that all women in this country including the women Caucus in Parliament, view the recent development of sexual harassment in out tertiary institutions that was from an investigator from the BBC bringing out these revelations.

As women leaders we think that what happened and the lecturers involved it is very disappointing. I have heard the Gender Minister speak and other women leaders speak out it, and as a Caucus chair, I strongly believe that as a country we should look at sexual harassment again.

Let’s not restrict ourselves to what has happen in this country on the exposé that has come out in our tertiary institution, it doesn’t only happen there. I think that regulating it and legislating it will be the way forward for us as a country”, she stressed, highlighting that such issues go beyond tertiary institutions and require nationwide attention and legal action.