President John Dramani Mahama is pushing for legislation that would make it a criminal offence for employers to demand romantic or sexual favours in exchange for jobs, describing the practice as deeply harmful and unacceptable.
He raised the proposal on Saturday, May 2, 2026, during a town hall meeting at Adweso in Koforidua, which concluded his two-day working visit to the Eastern Region.
The discussion was sparked when a female student raised concerns about gender inequality in employment, arguing that women with similar qualifications are frequently overlooked in favour of men.
Responding to her remarks, President Mahama said the country needed stronger legal safeguards to tackle abuse of power in hiring.
“One of the worst things, and I think we should pass a bill to make it 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,” President Mahama said.
He stressed that such behaviour must be confronted decisively, adding that existing norms were not strong enough to deter offenders.
“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.”
The initial concern had been raised by a student from Ghana Senior High School in Koforidua, who noted that women often face reduced opportunities in many workplaces despite having equal qualifications.
She pointed to the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, as proof that women can excel when given fair access to opportunities.
President Mahama echoed her view, saying women were fully capable of performing in roles traditionally dominated by men. He referenced his visits to road construction sites under the Big Push programme, where he observed female engineers actively working as site engineers.
“I find it very admirable when I see the girls doing those kinds of jobs,” he said, adding that he often take photographs with them as a form of encouragement.
He further outlined his government’s commitment to gender balance in public service appointments, setting a target for equal representation by 2028.
“We already have the Affirmative Action law, which we are trying to apply,” he said. “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. It is a tough call, but we will work at it.”
