By Agnes Ansah, GNA
Accra, Nov. 4, GNA – The Ark Foundation Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), will on Thursday, November 5, host a conference on Sex-for-Jobs to promote dialogue on sexual harassment and strengthen accountability in workplaces and institutions.
The conference, to be held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, is on the theme: “Promoting Accountability, Safe Workplaces and a Culture of Integrity.”
It will bring together stakeholders, including policymakers, employer associations and advocates, to develop practical measures to prevent sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse in workplaces and institutions.
Sex-for-Jobs refers to the abuse of power by employers, hiring managers or other persons in positions of authority who demand sexual favours from job seekers or employees in exchange for employment, promotion or career advancement, whether qualified or not.
Although Ghana has no official national database on the practice, concerns about its prevalence have grown, prompting President John Dramani Mahama to propose legislation to criminalise it.
Addressing a town hall meeting in Koforidua in May 2026, the President described the practice as “unacceptable and exploitative” and called for strict legal consequences for perpetrators.
The proposal has received support from gender and social advocates, including Mrs Sheila Minkah-Premo, a lawyer and Convener of the Affirmative Action Law Coalition, who has expressed readiness to join advocacy efforts to criminalise sexual harassment.
She described the practice as demoralising, particularly for young women entering the job market, saying it deprived qualified individuals of employment opportunities and denied the country access to competent talent.
“It robs victims of the opportunity to gain employment and denies Ghana the right to have the best-qualified people,” she said in an interview.
Ms Awurabena Jones, Programme Manager of the Ark Foundation, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) ahead of the conference that eight out of every 10 women in Ghana had encountered some form of workplace sexual harassment.
However, she said the absence of reliable national data was largely due to underreporting, driven by fear of stigmatisation and victimisation, as well as limited awareness of what constituted sexual harassment.
Ms Jones said reports from various training programmes indicated that the situation was worrying, although there were no official statistics on the prevalence of Sex-for-Jobs.
“The lack of reliable data and inadequate attention to the issue has informed the Foundation’s decision to organise the conference,” she said.
The conference would provide an opportunity for organisations to examine their workplace sexual harassment policies, reporting procedures and mechanisms for seeking redress.
Ms Jones said many employees were unaware of where or to whom to report incidents, making it necessary to engage organisations on the measures they had put in place and their effectiveness.
“We want to push organisations a step further. We are looking for substantial evidence that you are really doing something to address sexual harassment,” she said.
The conference would also identify organisations without sexual harassment policies for possible training and support in developing appropriate guidelines.
The Foundation, she added, was prepared to assist institutions in developing policies and training staff to prevent and address sexual harassment.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
4 Nov., 2026
Reporter: Agnes Ansah
Email: [email protected]