WTM: Tourism Should Focus on Equal Pay, Gender Equality Training

Photo source: UNWTO

Equal pay and gender equality training are crucial to ensuring the tourism sector is a fair employment space, according to the alarming findings of a World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) survey presented at the World Travel Market in London this week.

This year’s WTM spotlights the need to ensure women’s empowerment as part of the sector’s restart. “As we rethink the future of tourism, it must be one in which women and men are equally empowered to take the opportunities that the sector’s restart is bringing,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Areas requiring improvement were highlighted by the UNWTO study which revealed among others that as a result of Covid-19, females employed in tourism between March 2020 and September 2021 were more likely to lose their job, suffer a pay cut as well as reduced working hours.

Raising awareness

Lucy Ferguson, Lead Expert for Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines and Training speaking during the event at WTM London. Photo source: WTM London.

To raise awareness, four pilot countries – Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jordan and Mexico – became part of “The Center Stage” project which has brought on board governments and businesses as well as NGOs and community associations in efforts to put gender-equality at the heart of tourism recovery plans.

“The four pilot countries have led the way in putting gender-equality center stage of their tourism recovery plans and UNWTO is committed to taking this work further and wider,” said Pololikashvili.

Photo source: WTM London.

So far The Center Stage project has produced the following results:

– 702 businesses/entrepreneurs received gender-equality training

– 712 people received in-person training

– 526 women received a promotion

– 100 percent of participating businesses strengthened sexual harassment prevention

– 100 percent of participating businesses committed to ‘equal pay for work of equal value’

– a one-hour online “Gender Equality in Tourism Training” course is on offer.

At the same time, highlighting the importance of females in tourism, this year’s WTM hosted an all-women panel of airline bosses who discussed Covid-19 challenges among others for the BIG Airline Session earlier this week.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is an official media partner of WTM London.