Government, employers, workers’ organisations, recruitment agencies, civil society and development partners have called for stronger gender-responsive recruitment systems to protect migrant workers and promote decent work in Ghana.

The call came at a two-day Sensitization Workshop on Gender and Fair Recruitment, held on 29 -30 October 2026 and jointly organised by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with support from the German Development Cooperation under the Programme Shaping Development-Oriented Migration (MEG). It took place against the backdrop of Ghana’s ongoing review of its National Labour Migration Policy, National Migration Policy, and National Employment Policy. 

Labour migration creates jobs, builds skills and improves livelihoods, but women and men experience it differently. Women migrant workers, particularly in domestic and informal work, remain more exposed to exploitative recruitment, abuse, discrimination and limited protection. 

The workshop featured presentation of findings of gender analysis of labour migration along the Ghana - Nigeria corridor to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and examined how the ILO Guidelines for Gender Equality in Fair Recruitment can be applied in Ghana.

Labour migration creates jobs, builds skills and improves livelihoods, but women and men experience it differently. Women migrant workers, particularly in domestic and informal work, remain more exposed to exploitative recruitment, abuse, discrimination and limited protection. Participants identified potential entry points for strengthening gender equality across the labour migration cycle. They called for stronger protection and grievance mechanisms, including for refugees and asylum seekers, and for better gender-disaggregated data to guide policy.

“This workshop comes at a critical policy moment for Ghana. The discussions and recommendations generated here will help strengthen gender-responsive labour migration governance and promote fair recruitment practices that better protect migrant workers,” said on behalf of the GIZ-MEG Programme Director, David Nii Addy 

“By placing gender at the centre of labour migration governance, Ghana can strengthen worker protection, promote fair recruitment, and establish itself as a leader in advancing safe, orderly and inclusive labour migration,” said Austin Erameh, Employment and Migration Officer, ILO Abuja, representing the Director of the ILO Country Office, Abuja.

According to Harriet Botchway, the Head of Gender and Child Protection Department at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana, "fair recruitment and safe migration pathways are essential to protecting workers from exploitation and ensuring that labour migration delivers opportunities, dignity and economic empowerment for all. 

At the end of the workshop, stakeholders agreed that progress depends on shared responsibility among government, employers, workers’ organisations, recruitment agencies, civil society, diaspora actors, development partners and the media, and that the benefits of migration are fully realised only when pathways are transparent, well-regulated and grounded in respect for workers’ rights and dignity.

The workshop brought together approximately 45 participants from government institutions, employers’ and workers’ organisations, recruitment agencies, development partners and civil society.