For nearly two decades, Emefa Apawu was one of the most recognisable faces in Ghanaian broadcasting.
Her steady delivery and incisive questioning on programmes such as The Probe earned her public trust and professional respect, cementing her reputation as a symbol of credibility in a demanding media landscape.
So, when she transitioned from the newsroom into corporate communications, the move appeared seamless even enviable. Yet behind the polished public image lay a quieter struggle: the constant tension between professional ambition and motherhood.
“I was working six days a week, sometimes seven,” Miss Apawu revealed on the podcast Talk No Dey Cook Rice.
She recalled that it became unusual for her son to see her at home during the day. “When he did, he asked, ‘Is everything okay?’ That was not how I wanted to raise my children.”
She spoke of years spent chasing deadlines, hosting programmes and attending events, often at the expense of family life. Reflecting on her daughter, now nearing adulthood, Apawu said much of her child’s life passed with her largely absent.
“My daughter turns eighteen in December, and for the larger part of her life, I have not been there,” she said.
“I can’t keep calling myself a mother when everything I do is just chasing.”
At one point, she recalled having to take her baby to the newsroom because she had no one to watch her.
A National Trend Hidden in Plain Sight
Miss Apawu’s experience mirrors a broader, largely unspoken reality within Ghana’s media industry.
While the country’s media space has expanded rapidly boasting hundreds of radio and television stations nationwide newsroom structures have remained largely unchanged.
Long hours, rigid shifts and a culture that equates commitment with constant physical presence still dominate.
Dr Charity Binka, Executive Director of Women in Media and Communications (WOMEC), said this model ignored the realities of caregiving.
“Newsrooms still assume workers have no caregiving responsibilities.
While women continue to excel in reporting and editorial roles, many are forced to make difficult choices once they become mothers.
This comes with sleepless nights, health emergencies and school schedules, yet the newsroom expects the same pace and output from women as though nothing has changed,” she said.
This mismatch, Dr Binka explained, pushed many women to slow their careers, decline demanding assignments or exit the media altogether.
She called for gender-responsive newsroom policies, including flexible work arrangements, maternity-friendly assignments, childcare support and strong safeguards against discrimination. “If newsrooms want to retain skilled female journalists, they must recognise that motherhood is not a hindrance but a natural part of the workplace,” she emphasised.
“I Paid the Price” — The Personal Cost
For Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Online Editor at the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the struggle became especially intense after returning to work from maternity leave while caring for a child with special needs.
“You know Eyram is a special needs child, and it was such a difficult moment for me,” she recalled.
She said she pleaded with her superiors to assign her to programmes closer to her home in Adenta, but her requests were denied. At times, she was sent to cover events as far as Kasoa.
Although Mrs Awadzi was eventually granted permission to work from home, the flexibility came at a professional cost.
“I was allowed to work remotely, but I paid the price of not being promoted for a long time. All my juniors were promoted ahead of me,” she said. “That was the price I had to pay.”
Labour Law Offers Protection, But Not Support
Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), provides basic protections for working mothers, including at least 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, nursing breaks and safeguards against dismissal due to pregnancy.
However, for women in fast-paced sectors like the media, these legal provisions often fall short.
The law does not mandate flexible schedules, hybrid work options or structured reintegration programmes, leaving many mothers to navigate the transition back to work alone.
Philip Larbi, a mental health expert, warned that the absence of structured workplace support can heighten psychological distress.
“Women often experience increased stress and anxiety as they try to meet tight deadlines while caring for newborns,” he explained.
According to him, the lack of flexibility exposed new mothers to burnout and postnatal depression.
While the Labour Act provides a basic safety net, he said it does not address the emotional and mental toll of combining early motherhood with demanding professional roles.
A Rigid System
Mr Francis Ameyibor, Vice President of the West Africa Network of Journalists for Security and Development, believed the newsroom structure itself remained outdated.
He pointed to persistent gender disparities, particularly in state-owned media organisations that still operate within rigid, patriarchal frameworks.
According to him, female journalists especially mothers often faced career stagnation, limited childcare access and informal penalties for taking maternity leave.
Many, he said, were pushed into “soft beats” such as lifestyle reporting, reducing their visibility and chances of advancement.
He cited a 2020 Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) report showing that women constitute about 35 per cent of journalists in private media but only 25 per cent in state-owned media houses, which he described as the worst offenders.
Mr Ameyibor also referenced findings by the African Women’s Development Fund, which revealed that many mothers leave journalism due to inflexible schedules, limited childcare options and insufficient maternity support hence called for sector-wide reforms.
Network of Women in Broadcasting
Mrs Gloria Anderson, Secretary of the Network of Women in Broadcasting (NOWIB), said motherhood quietly reshapes the careers of many female journalists, often determining who advanced, stalls and exits the newsroom altogether.
She described juggling dawn shows, late-night bulletins and childcare, sometimes relying on neighbours to prepare her children for school.
“One day my daughter wept bitterly because I was late. I cried too,” she recalled. “Many women in this industry know that feeling.”
According to her, motherhood is a major turning point for women in the media.
Some slow down after childbirth, others move into less demanding roles, while many leave the profession entirely.
While individual managers may show empathy, she said, this has rarely translated into formal policy.
Returning mothers, she explained, face rigid shifts, pressure to “catch up,” lack of nursing spaces and the emotional toll of missing time with their children adding that childcare remained a major challenge, particularly for women assigned early-morning or late-night duties.
“These challenges affect career progression. Women decline promotions not because they lack ambition, but because the structures do not make it possible to balance both roles.”
Global Standards Highlight Local Gaps
International media organisations demonstrate that flexibility and productivity can coexist.
The BBC’s 2022 flexible working policy allows remote and hybrid work, compressed hours, part-time roles, job sharing and career breaks.
Global outlets such as Al Jazeera and CNN have structured maternity and paternity leave, reintegration programmes and gender-sensitive assignment policies.
A young reporter at a private radio station, who requested anonymity, said she loved journalism but feared motherhood.
“The system doesn’t support mothers. “Women leave not because they can’t handle the work, but because they can’t handle the guilt of leaving their children.” She added.
The Way Forward
The experiences of Miss Apawu, Mrs Awadzi, Mrs Anderson and many others expose systemic failures that threaten diversity, representation and the quality of journalism in Ghana.
Unless Ghanaian newsrooms evolve, the silent exodus of women will continue, weakening the industry’s ability to reflect society fully.
The question is no longer whether women can excel in journalism they already do. The real question is whether the system will finally change to reflect their realities.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY