How Tourism Can Better Invest in Women – Uncornered Market

Last updated on March 11, 2024 by Audrey Scott.

2024 is the theme of International Women’s Day. Encourage involvement.A call to action to “break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create an environment where all women are valued and respected.” Although much progress has been made in gender equality and inclusion over the years, there is still a lot of awareness and work to be done to achieve this goal. Everyone is involved and has a chance to succeed..

Companies, governments and communities play an important role in creating this more equal world through intentional change and initiatives to ensure that women and marginalized groups are:

The tourism sector is certainly no exception to the role it can play in providing these basics to women of all backgrounds and nationalities.

Travel and involvement

Ideally, travel is about celebrating diversity, valuing differences, breaking down stereotypes and prejudice, engaging local communities, and improving places for local people to live. At least that’s the goal for many people who work in tourism, and something that comes from much more intelligent and sustainable travel. However, we know that sadly not all tourism businesses and travelers live up to this example.

The tourism sector is able to consciously achieve greater participation of women and greater social impact to move closer to this ideal. This inclusivity promises not only to strengthen the sector and make it more resilient, but it will also help build deeper and more transformative travel experiences for travelers who are closer to the aforementioned example.

With the landscape in mind, this article presents some specific ideas and approaches that tourism and travel can apply to empower women, support women entrepreneurs and businesses, and actively invest in communities to do so. Through it all, the travel sector can #InspireInclusion and consciously work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive world.

Women in Tourism

In 2019, women accounted for 54% of tourism sector jobs worldwide (we have not been able to find the latest post-pandemic statistics). At one level, this figure can be interpreted as a fundamental step towards success, opportunity and access for women.

However, according to research by the UNWTO, most of these jobs are concentrated in the least powerful, least skilled and lowest paid positions. Only 19-25% of leadership and C-suite levels are filled by women. This indicates that women are often hired only for low-level jobs and especially for those participating in the informal economy, who are most vulnerable to job loss and displacement from economic shocks such as pandemics.

The challenge for the tourism sector is not just focus. Greater involvement of women as part of the workforce, but also as partners, managers and leaders. And if we think about this year’s theme of inclusion, giving women and marginalized groups the resources and opportunities they need to succeed in that local context.

Why invest in women’s issues?

Before we delve into some of the ways the tourism sector can better invest in and support women, let’s take a look. why It matters to our world. TL;DR: An investment in women is an investment in our communities and future generations.

Kiva, a microfinance organization that lends to low-income entrepreneurs around the world, found that women invest 80% of their earned income in children’s education and well-being. Other UN research shows that women-led economic empowerment leads to greater gender equality and rights, economic growth, increased girls’ education rates, and other social indicators of well-being.

We have seen this play out time and time again in our projects over the past 10+ years, whether working with microfinance or tourism organizations.

Shushe, who received business training and market access for her craft through a program in Moshi, Tanzania, described the concept above in personal terms: “I want to break the cycle for my daughter. I want to prove that women can work and earn money.”

Alessandra Alonso from Women in Travel explained during a G Adventures Travel panel on women in tourism: “Economic empowerment for us is the beginning of everything. Because when a woman earns, the children get an education, the extended family eats and the whole community is much better off.”

How tourism can better invest in women.

Here are some practical ways travel and tourism can better invest in women, be more inclusive, and support empowerment, women’s entrepreneurship and leadership.

• Develop tourism products in collaboration with local community organizations. and social enterprises that focus on helping indigenous women and marginalized groups. This social impact product development approach not only provides opportunities to women and marginalized communities, but can also provide significant market access and a source of income for the local organization. If you’re not sure how to start the community-based product development process, we can help.
• Hire more women, and not just at the lowest levels of participation. Pay particular attention to leadership and management positions. If you believe your company is already doing enough in gender diversity, do a simple audit to see how many positions in the company are filled by women or people from marginalized communities. This can provide a more objective picture of the true diversity of your company’s workforce.
• Innovate in gender diversity. Open positions and offer or expand training for women-led initiatives that may at first be considered non-traditional. This will help increase the definition and perception of what “women’s work” is or what it is possible for women to do. For example, Chobe Game Lodge was the first company in Botswana to offer an all-female safari guide team. Sakha Cabs in India trains women to become taxi and professional drivers, a profession once considered a “man’s job”. Women push boundaries in these roles. Stereotypes are changing. Get ahead of the curve.
• Don’t just localize the supply chain, make it more gender-equal by choosing women-owned suppliers and local businesses. If you don’t know where to start looking for women-owned tourism businesses, check out this list of women-owned tourism businesses, women-empowering community tourism enterprises on the Planeterra Foundation or search for local women’s tourism networks where you work. Not only will this approach support your sustainability efforts, but women-owned businesses tend to expand and expand opportunities and employment for other women in the community.
• Identify barriers and understand the needs of local women by asking them. Then provide the support they need to productively engage in projects, acquire the skills they need, and join the workforce. For example, this may include childcare, transportation to work and to address safety concerns, skills training to supplement basic education, and flexible work hours to accommodate traditional responsibilities at home.
• Encourage women to tell stories. Especially in indigenous communities, we have realized that women are the custodians of tradition and culture. They are often the ones who pass down the knowledge, traditions and techniques to their children, thus preserving the wisdom of the community. Women’s voices are often not heard, because their knowledge is not valued, nor are they actively given the opportunity to share it. Tourism companies are in an ideal position to amplify these stories and voices by inviting women to be leaders or speak as local experts.
• Tell your customers and your passengers about the deliberate decisions you’ve made to invest in women. Share stories of access and opportunity. Be transparent and don’t be afraid to season your story by sharing some of the mistakes you’ve made along the way. Invite your customers to join you on this journey. Educate them on the impact of their decisions and actions to support women around the world. If you don’t know how to start connecting with social influencers, let us know.

For those of us in tourism, we know that it can create opportunities and jobs, thereby enhancing lives and livelihoods. It can take transferable skills and embed them for use in the formal economy.

The business case for inclusive workforces

Also investing in women and inclusive workforces have good business acumen. Studies show that companies that exhibit high levels of gender diversity, particularly at the executive level, typically outperform companies that do not in terms of economic returns. One reason for this is that men and women often display different leadership styles. Expressing diverse opinions and perspectives creates collective intelligence and can often result in more creative solutions and more effective problem solving.

The business case is also on the consumer side. In tourism and travel, it is estimated that women consumers make 70-80% of travel decisions. Female travelers are a growing part of the entire travel community. A company’s ability – aided by workplace diversity – to understand and process the needs of its current and potential customers is second to none.

Inspirational engagement every day

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we need to be intentional and persistent with words and inspiration on one day of the year that supports and empowers women every day.

If the tourism sector moves to “Inspire Inclusion,” women will be invited, welcomed and given the resources and support they need to take the driver’s seat in travel to create a more inclusive and equitable future for us all.

And this is the inclusive world we want to live in.