According to the “Global Report on Women in Tourism”, more and more women are challenging the gender stereotypes in the industry.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in collaboration with UN Women, the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ), World Bank Group, and Amadeus, has introduced the long-awaited second edition of the Global Report on Women in Tourism. The report highlights the progress made by the global tourism industry to promote gender equality, with important case studies and statistics gathered worldwide.
The key findings show that:
- The majority of the tourism workforce in the world is female: 54% of the people employed in tourism are women, compared to 39% in the broader economy.
- The wage gap is smaller in the tourism industry: women who work in tourism earn 14.7% less than men, compared to 16.8% in the broader economy.
- Tourism offers women more opportunities for leadership roles: 23% of tourism Ministers are female, compared to 20.7% of Ministers overall.
The report also states that more and more women are challenging gender stereotypes in the industry.
For example, in Morocco, women have obtained licenses to work as tourist guides for the first time. An airline in the United Kingdom has doubled the number of female pilots who work for it. And today, the Uganda Hotel Owners Association is led for the first time by a woman.
Technology has also been a catalyst for empowerment, offering women more training opportunities and encouraging businesses by making it easier to enter the tourism market.
In the public eye, lawmakers are becoming aware of the importance of gender equality in tourism and taking measures to ensure that women obtain a fair share of the benefits that tourism can generate.
Speaking of these findings, Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary-General, said: “Tourism is leading the charge for female empowerment all over the world. Across the private and public sectors women are harnessing the potential of tourism to become financially independent, challenge stereotypes and start their own businesses”.
“UNWTO is firmly committed to working towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 – the empowerment of women and girls – and ensuring that tourism continues to be at the forefront of gender equality efforts,” said the Secretary-General.