With International Women’s Day celebrated today (March 8), female leaders in the tourism industry have highlighted that while there has been progress, women in tourism still face barriers to entry and being promoted above their male counterparts.

A new World Bank Group report has shown that the global gender gap for women in the workplace is far wider than previously thought, as few countries have officially adopted and enacted policies on equal opportunities for women – not even the wealthiest economies. 

For example, 98 economies have enacted legislation mandating equal pay for women for work of equal value. Yet only 35 economies – fewer than one out of every five – have adopted pay-transparency measures or enforcement mechanisms to address the pay gap. 

Associate Professor Nellie Swart of the Department of Applied Management at the University of South Africa (Unisa) and Chairperson of Tourism Educators South Africa, told Tourism Update that although specific and up-to-date statistics on the gender gap in tourism in southern Africa were not readily available, globally, women in the tourism sector were still marginalised.

“Although more than 50% of the tourism and hospitality workforce consists of women, most of these positions are at lower and entry levels. The COVID-19 pandemic had a catastrophic impact on the little gains made to close the gender gap in tourism. Globally, the gender gap remains a challenge to address while the industry recovers,” said Swart.

Challenges

She said women faced an array of internal and external challenges to gain access to jobs and positions in tourism, ranging from gender stereotyping, discrimination, patriarchy, gender identities, diverse sexualities, exclusion, and sensitivity towards cultural and religious practices, amongst others.

“In some conservative communities, women have great difficulty obtaining respect and recognition from their peers, families, communities, and institutions. This leads to women feeling uncomfortable expressing themselves in society and the workplace, which further hampers their career development in the tourism industry. Often, the 'lack of relevant industry experience' is used as a barrier to enter the tourism industry.”

She added that, although there were policies and legislation in place in South Africa to support fair and equitable employment practices to enhance the employment of women in middle to senior management positions, the execution and compliance with these employment Acts remained a challenge, as organisations prioritised profits while recovering from the pandemic.

Tasneem Carrim, South African Department of Tourism Spokesperson, told Tourism Update that women were often still found in the bottom chain of the hospitality sector as opposed to their male counterparts.

“Some of the challenges found their roots in the lack of recognition of the skills set and provision of formal qualifications for career movement within the sector,” she said.

Nasreen Tisaker, who conducted a Master’s study titled "Investigating Barriers to Career Advancement for Women in the South African tourism sector", found that women expressed concerns about HR policies not adequately supporting the recruitment of older women.

Data for her study was collected between April 1 and September 30, 2021. All 250 respondents were women, with the largest age group falling between 18 and 37 (50.8%).

“According to my findings, women in the sector exhibit a strong desire to ascend to management and leadership positions. However, they lament the scarcity of female role models within the tourism and hospitality sectors. Access to mentors is perceived as crucial for career advancement, with mentorship programmes seen as instrumental in addressing workplace inequalities. Despite this recognition, women reported limited support from more experienced women in the industry,” said Tisaker.

Opportunities

Today, societies are more gender-conscious, and women must use this as an opportunity to engage in the development, design, and marketing of tourism products and services, according to Swart.

“Many industry events are hosted across the country, and women must attend these events to meet new people, which can lead to new job opportunities. They must build strong business networks to foster ‘intra-women tourism trade’ – meaning that women will prioritise doing business with women-owned businesses. This can lead to more entrepreneurial opportunities.”

Swart added that women needed to challenge the status quo advocated by the power structures and promote gender equity in the workplace and industry.

Women also need to foster inclusion by volunteering to participate in talent management programmes and requesting to be mentored by a senior and well-respected manager in their organisation or industry. Education and lifelong learning also provide an opportunity for women to have a competitive advantage over their peers when they apply for middle and senior management positions.

She further noted that, through financial empowerment, female employers/entrepreneurs could create more jobs, especially in rural communities.

“Women-owned tourism businesses need financial support to grow their businesses, as research indicates that these businesses are more sustainable. More training, such as the Unisa Executive Development Programme for Women in Tourism, is needed to capacitate women with relevant knowledge to support career advancement either in middle to senior management positions or as entrepreneurs.”

Carrim said she would like to encourage women in the sector to participate in the opportunities offered by the Department of Tourism.

“Women in the sector should also consider joining the Women in Tourism Provincial Chapters, which are in all nine provinces. These chapters provide its members with a chance to associate with the movers and shakers of the industry and allow them to empower each other through various spaces, by working together and supporting each other’s products or services."