Those with the employing power (who happen to be males in the majority) are said to be bold enough to give women the take it or leave offer in exchange for sex.
“Some two friends of mine once submitted their applications for a job at a certain company and they were told that there was no job but a space could be created for them if they are prepared for certain things. He said according to the structure of the company, there was totally no vacancy but if they were serious, he could find them a place,” said the friend. She claimed her friends withdrew their applications. The principled women say it is increasingly becoming difficult for them to get jobs. They even find it hard to live by their principles. The majority of the affected are those who have recently graduated from tertiary institutions. Their lot is made worse by the fact that there is another batch of graduates coming in the next two months from the University of Botswana (UB). They fear that there might be those who are ready to offer thighs for a job. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that in cities and towns, about 20,029 females are seeking work compared with 14,419 males. Women who already have jobs through legitimate means fear they might lose them or fail to get promotion if they do not succumb to the sexual advances of their bosses. “It has happened to me before. I once looked for a job in the Serowe Council and there was this man who insinuated that I sleep with him before he could offer me a job and I refused. I also had a temporary job in one company and I was told that I could only get a pay hike if I agreed to be a concubine. I refused and left the job,” said Goitseone Kalaluka who is currently employed at Masunga Council. When she left her job, she was not sure where the next meal would come from. After trials and tribulations, she finally got a job in Masunga.
“At least here I got the job without any strings attached. I was very lucky that the panel of my interviewers were women.”
She said many young women are forced to become concubines because they are desperate to earn a living. Others engage in the exercise to compensate for weak academic results, one young woman said.
“It depends. You will find that in some instances, it is women who initiate them because they know that they can’t qualify to get a job based on merit. Even at UB, it used to happen. If somebody didn’t do an assignment, they would go to the lecturer’s office and lure him into making love,” said one woman.
Another woman said she left her temporary job after her boss bluntly demanded sex from her. She proposed that hiring should be made a group thing to avoid feeling indebted to one person.
“Even within that panel, there shouldn’t be anyone who wields more power than others. They should assume equal recommending powers. That way, it would be better,” she said.
