The tourism workforce in most regions of the world is made up of women. According to UN Tourism, they represent up to 54% globally and, in many cases, exceed the average of other productive sectors. It is true that there are still challenges to face in tourism to achieve gender equity: women tend to concentrate in the worst-paid, least recognized, and often informal jobs. In many cases, they carry out temporary work and there is also a high volume of unpaid work in family tourism businesses. Additionally, they are underrepresented in leadership or managerial positions. According to the organization Equality in Tourism, women represent only 27% of the board members of the largest hotel chains. However, it cannot be denied that the sector has shown growth in the representation of women in its workforce, with positive impacts for them.
At this point, the mandatory question arises: can we promote the incorporation of women in traditionally male activities from the tourism sector? The answer is a resounding yes. This sectoral experience represents an opportunity to promote the inclusion of women, for example, in construction. In Argentina, it is estimated that currently between 4 and 5% of people working in the sector are women, which was not common just a few years ago.
Salta “La Linda”: A Tourist Hub with a Calling for Incorporating Women
In the Norte Grande (Great North) region of Argentina, characterized by high poverty rates and great tourism potential in terms of resources and activity growth, the Sustainable Tourism Development Program of the Province of Salta, financed by the IDB, is being carried out. Its objective is to contribute to socioeconomic development and reduce poverty in the province. Specifically, the program aims to increase tourist spending and formal employment. Among the program’s products, there are various infrastructure works related to tourism facilities, as well as strengthening the local offer through support for entrepreneurs, artisans and tourism SMEs.
From the design of the operation to its completion, the program was characterized by high female participation. This was reflected in the fact that the provincial team was mostly made up of women in hierarchical roles, involved in planning and decision-making, coordination, as well as more technical profiles and roles, such as those related to inspection of works and responsible for environmental and social issues.
Support for strengthening the offer emphasized the most vulnerable groups, among which the female collective is considered. More than 80% of the beneficiaries of tourism training and financing for entrepreneurs were women. This is highly promising and can generate many lessons for future public decision-makers or even investors. With that in mind, and although a micro or small tourism business does not usually require a large investment, there are still challenges in accessing financing for women. Access to financing remains the biggest challenge and source of frustration for female entrepreneurs: the work-life balance and the social role of women are pending issues to be resolved. According to studies by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, there is still a significant gap in Latin America between men and women in the entrepreneurial world, in addition to the fact that the business context is more volatile for new companies.
It is observed that entrepreneurial initiatives arise more frequently from the scarcity of employment, especially for women. In this way, LAC has the highest business failure rate for women compared to other regions, and the lowest rate of established women-owned businesses, suggesting high business turnover and difficulty in achieving a sustainable venture. Therefore, supporting women entrepreneurs in tourism, providing them with business and quality training, contributes to the better performance of their businesses and the growth of themselves and their families.
The most significant challenge was the incorporation of women in construction, given the large number of infrastructures to be financed.
A notable example is the construction of the Cafayate Convention Center, where a group of women joined the contractor’s team. These women participated in the “Constructoras” program of the Province of Salta, which provides practical tools and necessary knowledge in construction, including masonry, welding, installation of electrical and sanitary services and accounting tools. Additionally, the company had to provide a training and education plan to ensure the effective and respectful incorporation of women into the work. It is important to note that these women worked alongside their male colleagues and their only limitation, on some occasions, was tasks that required physical strength. During the construction, they worked on plastering, masonry, dry construction and work organization tasks.
In the Cafayate project, all of them valued environmental management, keeping records, spreadsheets and applying contingency procedures in case of any environmental incident. They were also permanently advised by the environmental manager on-site, giving them the necessary recommendations for better performance and daily decision-making. The Mayor of Cafayate was another key piece in this chain of women promoting the participation of their peers.
Tourism as an Opportunity
Tourism continues to offer a field of development for women, and various strategies can reduce the gaps. From government agencies, financiers and private entities, it is essential to know the sector and have the will to reduce inequalities. All this is aimed at developing gender equity policies that include specific hiring and promotion strategies in all critical branches of tourism. This includes other sectors with unconventional tasks for women, such as construction. Similarly, training for women entrepreneurs and promoting financing for their projects are fundamental to improving the quality of their participation in the sector.
The agenda also includes listening to the voices of women at the community, business, and at various organizational levels, providing mechanisms to encourage participation in decision-making processes, as well as contributing to an increasing balance between leisure, family life and work, protecting them from exposure to gender-based violence, such as harassment.
The Salta Tourism program is an example that demonstrates that proactive measures can be taken to reduce discrimination against women in the sector, improving their participation both in quality and quantity. And reaching other sectors of the chain with specific measures to promote their inclusion.
Innovation in response to long-standing problems can be a key. The contribution of women’s perspectives, from political and programmatic decision-making to their participation in promotional actions, is vital. The tourism sector still has much to advance in terms of innovation. Applied tourism intelligence will allow us to address new aspects to improve equity among people that have worked in a sector with a very high and positive social and environmental impact.
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