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Integrating a gender perspective additionally into the discussion of tourism is critical as this
industry is a major employer of women who make up 46% of its workforce. The sexual
division of labour operates at all aspects of tourism and travel related industries. Like all
other forms of employment in some Southern countries men are predominantly employed
in the formal sector of tourism. Indian women share 2.98% while Sri Lankan women occupy
14.9% share of those employed. In the Caribbean and Latin America the percentage is 35%.
Women, perceived as cheaper labour than men, are segregated due to gender
stereotyping and sex segregation into different occupation. Even in mainstream tourism
they predominate in menial, semi-skilled, domestic and service type occupations. In the
food sector women employed as restaurant helpers, cooks and waitresses occupy the
bottom of the hierarchy. In the travel sector, women normally hold seasonal, part-time or
minimum wage jobs and dominate as small travel agents. It offers various opportunities for
independent income generating activities. It simultaneously affects women’s lives in
destination communities. Success stories can be sourced and tried in a different milieu.
The issue of tourism, tourism development and gender equality is multidimensional. Apart
from sex tourism it encompasses the persistent issue of women shouldering an unequal
burden of unpaid reproductive work. Despite the pervasive reliance of the hospitality
sector on women’s labour ironically their work remains invisible and they continue to
suffer gender discrimination due to poor access to socio-economic resources.