Literature Review
Before indulging in gender-related issues within the hospitality industry, it is important to understand the role women play in it. According to Baum and Cheung (2015),
Within the industry, women make up nearly 70% of the workforce, however paradoxically there is a marked under-representation of women in senior positions, with women holding less than 40% of all managerial positions, less than 20% of general management roles and between 5-8% of board positions .
An immense amount of literature exists on gender-related issues encountered in the hospitality industry, especially by females. From discriminatory recruitment policies to salary differentials to sexual harassment on the job to discrepancies in managerial capabilities, researchers have covered it all. This section will briefly discuss the prevailing research on various gender-related challenges experienced in the hospitality industry.
In view of gender discrimination in employment opportunities, the Nigerian hospitality industry ranked high in gender inequality. Considering females to be more family-oriented and culturally unfit for a hospitality industry job, males were given preference over them by recruiters. The author’s recommendations to solve gender bias in Nigerian hospitality industry were rather clichéd. They lacked practicality or a strategic methodology required for implementation. For example, the author claimed that managers should overcome their cultural biases against working women, but the study did not offer any advice, strategy or method to make that happen.
A similar research, conducted in Jordan revealed that while the gender inequality situation improved across the globe, Middle Eastern countries still lagged behind. Moreover, it was highlighted that the Jordanian society withheld women for the sake of cultural norms, beliefs and values which viewed women as weak, submissive and unfit to hold managerial positions .
While examining the gap between salaries of men and women working in the hospitality industry, Biswas and Cassell (1996) and Sparrowe and Iverson (1999) found that females earned significantly less than males. It was discussed that salary differentials generally existed because women were hired for either unskilled or semi-skilled jobs that lacked managerial tasks and were of routine nature. The research further shed light on the disturbing reality that women were hired as hotel receptionists to kindle sexual appeal, rather than for their skills, competencies or experiences. Perhaps it can be safely inferred that the hospitality industry is plagued with several malignant forms of sexual discrimination, of which gender-based income discrepancies are just a small fragment.
The gender salary gap is further emphasized by segregation in the labor market. Despite advancements in social development, males and females still tend to work in different jobs, and sometimes even in different sectors. While males usually predominate high paying, managerial occupations, females prevail in low paying, operational occupations. One reason behind this segregation is cultural stereotypes that influence female’s choices of educational paths and professional careers that they pursue . These research findings highlight the role of male-dominated cultures in shaping organizations’ and overall societies’ thought processes to consider women less competent than men.
Through the adoption of an analytical approach as to why women are kept away from managerial positions, Guerrier (1986) claimed that the hospitality industry considered women a provider of substantial unpaid support to males working in the industry. As the nature of the industry required long, anti-social work hours, progress through informal contacts and high geographical mobility, women were assumed to be unfit for higher posts.
Almost as a response to the above research, some other researchers investigated the perceptions of female managers regarding their careers in the hospitality industry. The studies revealed that these females were willing to put up with the anti-social working hours and did not expect their family-related obligations to interfere with their careers. Yet, recruiters in the industry have failed to consider women as capable managers.
A research conducted in Hong Kong compared the career development paths of their female hospitality managers with those of American female hospitality managers. It was concluded that although several obstacles existed in Hong Kong to thwart female careers in the hospitality industry, yet the severity was less than that experienced in the US-based industry. The research also highlighted the positive attitude of female hospitality managers in Hong Kong. These women responded to sexual discrimination by working harder, longer and better than their male counterparts, proving that women can balance work and family efficiently.
As far as sexual harassment is concerned, research conducted by Head, Sorensen, and Pincus (1995) yielded some interesting insights. As the findings are not industry-specific, their implications are far-reaching. It was found that sexual harassment was perceived more seriously when the offender belonged to a higher hierarchical level. Moreover, education levels of employees played an important role in the extent of their tolerance of sexual harassment. Employees with higher education had lower tolerance levels and vice versa. One of the most important research finding was that given identical behaviors, actions of male superiors were rendered highly sexually harassing, but actions of female superiors were considered less sexually harassing. This specific finding negates the common assumption that women are the only victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Furthermore, it highlights that sexual harassment initiated by females might be tolerated to a greater extent.
Narrowing down on the hospitality industry, research has indicated that employees in the hotel industry experience more sexual harassment than other people in general. Part of the blame might rest on the ambiguous nature of the job, which entails close relationships with the customers for a successful career.
According to a survey of hospitality personnel directors conducted by Gilbert, Guerrier and Guy (1998), majority of the respondents considered sexual harasment a serious offence, calling for critical implications. However despite this realization, 39 percent of the respondents did not permit female employees to wear trousers, 7 percent considered flirting to be a part of the job and 29 percent deemed sexual jokes and teasing a trivial matter. The study’s findings also highlighted some dire consequences of sexual harasment such as high absenteeism, lower productivity, high turnover, uncomfortable working environment, stressful working relationships, negative psychological impacts on the victim, possible litigation costs for employers etc.
The above literature highlights the important aspects of gender bias in the hospitality industry. Given that the industry is highly gendered, women face several issues like occupational gender discrimination, informal promotional routes, income discrepancies and sexual harassment. Taking into consideration the pace of human development, the industry should benefit from encouraging gender equality. Management must develop effective solutions and provide equal employment opportunities for better utilization of female talent.
References
Baum, T. (2013). International Perspectives on Women and Work in Hotels, Catering and Tourism. International Labor Office.
Baum, T., & Cheung, C. (2015). Women in Tourism & Hospitality: Unlocking the Potential in the Talent Pool. Diageo.
Biswas, R., & Cassell, C. (1996). "Strategic HRM and the gendered division of labour in the hotel industry: A case study. Personnel Review 25, 19-34.
Eller, M. E. (1990). Sexual harassment in the hotel industry: the need to focus on prevention. Hospitality Research Journal, 431-440.
Gilbert, D., Guerrier, Y., & Guy, J. (1998). Sexual harassment issues in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 48-53.
Guerrier, Y. (1986). Hotel manager—an unsuitable job for a woman? . Service Industries Journal, 227-240.
Head, T. C., Sorensen, P. F., & Pincus, L. B. (1995). Sexual harassment in the eye of the beholder: but what focuses that eye? American Journal of Business, 47-54.
Kogovsek, M., & Kogovsek, M. (2015). Hospitality and Tourism Gender Issues Remain Unsolved: A Call For Research. Quaestus Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 194-203.
Masadeh, M. (2013). Women in the Hotel Industry: What’s missing from this picture? International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 573-580.
Nathaniel, A. I. (2015). Gender Inequality in the Hospitality Industry: Issues and Challenges. A case study of selected hotels in Ondo State in Nigeria. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports, 40-45.
Ng, C. W., & Pine, R. (2003). Women and men in hotel management in Hong Kong: perceptions of gender and career development issues. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 85-102.
Poulston, J. (2008). Metamorphosis in hospitality: A tradition of sexual harassment. International Journal of Hospitality Management , 232-240.
Sparrowe, R. T., & Iverson, K. M. (1999). Cracks in the Glass Ceiling? An Empirical Study of Gender Differences In Income In The Hospitality Industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 4-20.
Umbreit, W., & Diaz, P. E. (1994). Women in Hospitality Management: An Exploratory Study of Major and Occupation Choice Variables. Hospitality & Tourism Educator , 7-9.
