Segregation of women in tourism employment in the APEC region

Abstract

Women represent a majority of the tourism workforce globally, yet they remain under-represented in management roles and over-represented in part-time/casual work and low paid jobs. Prior research suggests women in employment, generally, and in tourism employment, specifically, experience gender discrimination, labour market and workplace segregation, work/family conflict, and other barriers to their employment and career progression. This paper presents results from an international survey of women's employment in the tourism sector, and analyses 363 responses representing the views of employers, employees, government officials, non-government organization representatives and academics across a range of tourism industries in 21 APEC member economies. The results reveal continued segregation of women across the economies, but also highlight national cultural barriers and intersectionality which affect women's employment and progression in tourism employment. Human resource management strategies, policy interventions, and implications to reduce gender segregation, increase representation in management, and provide equal employment opportunities are presented.