Across many of Ghana’s commercial washing bays, a noticeable gender division of labour has quietly emerged. While men predominantly undertake the physically demanding task of washing vehicles, women increasingly occupy the customer-facing cashier role, receiving payments, attending to clients, and managing the financial transactions that keep these businesses running.
The pattern is evident in washing bays from Accra to Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale, yet it has received little public attention. Is it a deliberate business strategy aimed at improving customer relations and boosting revenue, or does it reflect long-held perceptions about gender, trust, and professionalism within Ghana’s informal economy?
At the Babona Engine Filling Station Washing Bay, one of the busiest vehicle washing facilities along the roadside, cashier Sherifa believes the answer lies in business rather than chance.
“I think women are good marketers and that’s why employers put us here,” she told The High Street Journal.
Sherifa, who has worked at the washing bay for two years, believes employers value women for their ability to build rapport with customers and create a welcoming atmosphere that encourages repeat patronage.
“Women provide excellent customer service,” she said. “If you are beautiful and soft-spoken, you attract more customers.”
Her observations offer a window into a hiring practice that appears to be taking shape across many privately operated washing bays in Ghana. Although these views reflect her personal experience and not an established industry rule, they raise important questions about how businesses in the country’s expanding informal sector make employment decisions and the role customer experience now plays in driving profitability.
The Babona Washing Bay receives an estimated 50 to 60 vehicles on a typical day, according to Sherifa, with the figure varying depending on weather conditions and customer demand. From saloon cars and sport utility vehicles to heavy-duty trucks and construction equipment, each vehicle passing through the facility represents income generated in an industry that continues to create jobs for hundreds of young Ghanaians while supporting a growing urban economy.
Beyond customer service considerations, Sherifa also points to location as a major factor influencing business success. According to her, the washing bay’s position along a busy main road gives it a competitive advantage, making it easy for motorists to access the service and continue their journey without disruption. She further stated that the washing bay records its highest sales during the dry season, when dust levels are higher and vehicle owners are more likely to seek frequent washing services.
She explained that in some areas, washing bays are located in environments where dust quickly settles back on vehicles after washing, reducing customer satisfaction. In contrast, Babona’s roadside location allows vehicles to exit directly onto a major route, improving convenience and perceived service quality.
“The location also helps,” she said, noting that visibility and accessibility play a key role in attracting customers.
In addition to perceptions about marketing ability and customer service, another narrative emerged from workers at the facility regarding trust and financial handling. A male worker suggested that some employers prefer women as cashiers because they are perceived to be less likely to collude with customers to underreport earnings or mishandle funds, a concern that reflects broader challenges of accountability in parts of the informal sector. However, this remains a perception rather than a verified or universal practice.
Such views highlight a deeper issue within Ghana’s informal economy, where hiring decisions are often shaped by trust, experience and assumptions rather than formal recruitment systems. Washing bays, like many small and medium-scale service businesses, frequently rely on informal employment structures where roles are assigned based on perceived reliability, interpersonal skills and customer interaction ability.
The implications of this gendered division of labour extend beyond the washing bay itself. In the short term, it creates employment opportunities for women in customer-facing roles and provides income for young men engaged in manual washing work. In the long term, however, it risks reinforcing occupational stereotypes, where women are concentrated in service and reception roles while men dominate physically intensive labour.
Labour analysts have long noted that Ghana’s informal sector, which employs a significant portion of the workforce, often reflects social norms as much as economic logic. This can influence who gets hired for what role, even in situations where skills could be transferable.
For businesses, the model may appear efficient. Customer satisfaction can influence repeat business, and first impressions often matter in service industries. Yet experts argue that relying on gender based assumptions rather than competency-based hiring can limit productivity gains and reduce opportunities for equal participation in the labour market.
Addressing these patterns may require broader awareness within small business environments, alongside stronger emphasis on skills-based recruitment and training. Encouraging transparent hiring criteria and providing equal opportunities for both men and women in all roles could help balance efficiency with fairness in the sector.
At Babona Engine Filling Station Washing Bay, however, the system continues to operate in a familiar rhythm. Men wash the cars, women handle the cash, and customers move in and out in a steady flow of 50 to 60 vehicles a day. It is a small but telling reflection of how gender, perception and business strategy intersect in Ghana’s everyday economy, quietly shaping livelihoods and raising questions that extend far beyond the washing bay gate.
