opening speeches

According to the International Labour Organization, women hold down only 48.5% of the world’s jobs in the tourism
sector despite the wide reach and the opportunities available the industry might grant them. This is just only an example
of the topic discussion: women and tourism
Good morning honourable chair, fellow delegates and distinguished guests,
The delegate from France is appreciative of the opportunity to participate in this conference and the chance to address
the aforementioned problem with practical solutions. This is a paramount problem since tourism is a leading edge not
only in France’s economy but also in most other countries. However, most women still occupy lower positions despite
their substantial contribution to this industry. This can be regarded as gender discrimination that must be eliminated
and viable solutions should be found to tackle the issue. The French representatives are fully conscious of this issue and
its consequences. therefore, we are looking forwarding to discussing this and achieve effective suggestions. Thank you
general speaker’s list
I. Current situation of women’s empowerment in the tourism sector
The International Labour Organization found that women make up between 60-70% of the labor force in the hotel
sector  (though significant regional variation exists).
A study in Bulgaria revealed that 71% of managers and administrators in tourism are women compared to just 29% in
the country as a whole.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental components of just, equitable societies.

Empowering women to participate fully in economic life is essential to building strong economies; creating more stable
and just societies; achieving internationally agreed goals for development, sustainability and human rights; and
improving the quality of life of women, and consequently, that of communities.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates 70% of women-owned small and medium enterprises are “un-
served or underserved by financial institutions”, causing a credit gap of USD 285 billion.

The World Bank Group finds that – around the world – gender discrimination in laws and regulations continues to
prevent women from entering the workforce or starting a business. \

In the MENA region, a World Bank study found that women are greatly underrepresented in the tourism sector. Only 5%
of firms have a female managing director and only 4% have female majority ownership. Differences in labor force
participation rates between women and men in MENA are the greatest in the world, estimated at a 53-percentage point
gap on average.

In the Middle East, women are well-educated but not entering the tourism workforce. Women have higher rates of
tertiary education than men yet remain considerably underrepresented in employment. “Tourism, Job Vulnerability, and
Income Inequality

However, the tourism gender pay gap is not determined by a nation’s economic status, as some of the largest tourism
gender pay gaps are observed in the poorest regions, such as Ghana (men earned 69% more than women), Togo (60%),
Mali (58%), and developed countries, including United Kingdom (39%) and Austria (38%). Women account for 52% of
the tourism labor force in Asia and the Pacific.

The rate of employed women and women in management positions in the tourism industry in Asia and the Pacific
remains low, although a large number of them receive education
Tourism reactivating in the region after the COVID-19 crisis offers entrepreneurial opportunities for women, but a lack
of social policy to address digital access and digital competency gaps, especially in developing countries, has placed a
burden on female e7trepreneurs

The Global Report on Women in Tourism 2010  was officially launched at ITB Berlin in March 2011. As the first attempt
to map women’s active participation in the tourism industry worldwide, the Global Report represents a landmark in the
field of tourism and gender, focusing on five main areas: employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, community and
education. In the context of responsible tourism and local development, this study confirms that tourism can act as a
vehicle for the empowerment of women whilst highlighting the remaining challenges for gender equality in tourism

Tourism has been proven to provide pathways to empowerment, and that the opportunity for tourism to make a
difference in this area should be maximized.

Second, due to women’s concentration in lower status and lower paid jobs in tourism, their potential to contribute fully
is currently untapped.

For the tourism sector, the impact of greater gender equality and women’s empowerment would be highly beneficial,
because diverse and gender equitable organizations

There is a need for leadership and networking initiatives to be modified for certain beliefs.

According to a study released in 2021 by UNWTO which spans four world regions - Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, Latin
America and the Caribbean, and Europe – and four key tourism industries – digital platforms and technology, hotels and
accommodation, tour operators, and community-based tourism: women presently represent 54 percent of people
employed in tourism, 27 percent of tourism ministers and 20 percent of government ministers

Women tend to be concentrated in the lowest paid and lowest status jobs in tourism. Women perform a large amount
of unpaid work in family tourism businesses. the study also reveals that women in tourism earn 14.7 percent less

On average, a typical economy only gives women three-quarters of the rights of men, which negatively impacts
women’s entrepreneurship

“Tourism, Job Vulnerability, and Income Inequality During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global Perspective” shows that
female tourism workers on average earned 23% less than their male tourism colleagues and 11% lower than other
female employees in non-tourism sectors.

While gender stereotypes and sociocultural structures that prioritize men's role in commerce and women's role at
home still exist and limit women’s promotion to managerial positions, the seasonal, flexible nature of this region’s
tourism allows women to maintain their family-work balance

This might be the result of social discouragement, the pressure of marriage, religious rules, and access factors

COVID 19 – AN INCLUSIVE RESPONSE FOR WOMEN: As a sector with a majority female workforce worldwide (54%)
and most women in low-skilled or informal work, women have felt the economic shock to tourism caused by COVID-19
quickest and hardest
II. Negative impacts of the issue to France

The transition affected labor market and worsened or ignored the situation of women and issues they had to deal
with: it reduced the social, economic and political opportunities for women because women lacked power in the
new quasi capitalist markets (Margit 2007). Few women were concerned with what Western feminists consider
empowerment, and few gender programs exist to assist women (Ghodsee 2003)
Nevertheless, poor quality of the infrastructure like difficult access to many places because of bad road and rail
system, apartment blocks, sometimes even problems with water or energy supply in some areas, create
unfriendly environment for tourism development in that areas.

Privatization in some areas is incomplete which results in financial problems for many industries in sectors
connected with tourism.

Banks are not willing to give credits which hamper the establishment of new enterprises.

Along with that come social problems. Attempts to empower 61 women in tourism development processes face
a double burden of the legacy of half a century of general subservience, and an underlying male-oriented nature
of much of Central and Eastern European society. The right to work guaranteed in Soviet Union low could be
understood as a privilege and emancipation for women but on the other hand there was no room for making a
decision left.

Women were forced to work besides working at home. That kind of gender task division stereotypes might
hamper women empowerment (Hall, 2001). How far, for example, can rural tourism shift the balance of
economic power within farm households and help open up rural employment provision for women (Petrin,
1996; Siiskonen, 1996, cited from Godsee 2003)?

Further, older generations in that region are not used to being rational and proactive having experienced the
central planning when they were always told what to do and what kind of resources to use. The consequence of
that is that there is a lack of initiative and basically not sufficient motivation for entrepreneurship in these
societies amongst some groups in society.

Empowerment?

More people seem to have lost trust in the government. Rising democracies do not have much experience yet in
neo-liberal politics and social inequality is still a huge problem. The dominating policy does not succeed in
participatory structures appreciated especially on local levels to involve people in decision making processes.
Within societies individuals need to have a feeling of power, ownership and responsibility over their
livelihoods, so they could feel they do influence the environment around them. The lack of this now creates an
unfriendly atmosphere neither for innovation, cooperation nor for entrepreneurship

France’s international strategy for gender equality (2018-2022)

Gender inequalities continue around the world. Confronted with this, France is enhancing the coherence and
effectiveness of gender actions in its development assistance policies and external action. The 3rd International
Strategy for Gender Equality (2018-2022) is a steering tool designed to coordinate France’s efforts to improve
the situation of women around the world. The strategy is the international embodiment of the President’s
commitment to make gender equality the great national cause of his term.

A worrying international context

Their place in society means they face difficulties and discrimination everywhere and in all fields, a reality
further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.

The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the situation and rights of girls and women

Lastly, the pandemic’s consequences in terms of economic slowdown and job losses particularly affect women,
who form the majority in the sectors hit hardest by the crisis (tourism, catering, services) and in informal and
precarious work (89% of women work in the informal sector in sub-Saharan Africa and 95% in South Asia,
according to UN Women). With no social protection, those who work in the informal sector are particularly
vulnerable to diseases

III. Country’s stance, past actions/policies

Gender equality is a priority for the French government. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
(MEAE) spearheads this commitment through its feminist foreign policy. France is advocating gender equality
in international forums and wants this goal to be taken into account in all issues from inequality reduction to
sustainable development, peace and security, defence and promotion of fundamental rights, and climate and
economic issues.

At national level, France has also committed to ensuring that 50% of its official development assistance is
attributed – through the Agence Française de Développement – to projects with gender equality as a significant
or main objective.

The MEAE must set an example for feminist foreign policy. The Ministry has a pro-active policy to promote
gender equality internally.

Promoting gender equality and the role of women in society

"France wishes to support the emancipation of women around the world by fighting sexual violence and
fighting for equality in the workplace and girls’ education… Furthering this feminist foreign policy worldwide
means fighting for equality between men and women everywhere." .Joint article by Jean-Yves Le Drian and
Marlène Schiappa / 8 March 2019
 Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on gender equality and empowerment of
women, and respecting the fundamental rights of women as set out in the International Convention of 1979 on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women are a priority for France..

France, together with its co-chair Mexico, will host the Generation Equality Forum in 2021 organized by UN
Women to drive women’s rights and make it the great global cause by 2025 or 2030.

To foster occupational equality between men and women and gender parity, the Ministry has taken several
commitments:

 increasing the number of women in management and ambassador positions. 26% of France’s ambassadors are
women (compared to 11% in 2012). 25% of directors and heads of department are women (compared to 22% in
2012).
 preventing all forms of bullying and workplace violence including the creation of a listening service.
 implementing means enabling a better work/life balance.
 paying close attention to ensure communications do not include gender stereotypes and promote equality-
related issues.
Lastly, the Ministry requires the 12 agencies with which it oversees solely or jointly to include gender issues in
their strategies and actions.

 The Generation Equality Forum event in June 2021 will be a key moment in reaffirming the
international community’s commitment to promoting the rights of women and girls and building more
equal societies.

 Lead by example

Everything starts with a good example and the Ministry has therefore decided to increase its work for gender
equality and parity within its teams and those of its agencies. These include:
 Increasing the number of women in management and ambassador positions;
 Raising awareness and providing training on gender issues for all employees;
 Systematically including gender equality in the strategies and actions of the 12 agencies supervised or
co-supervised by the Ministry.
 Bolstering political support for gender issues

 To step up political advocacy for gender equality, gender issues need to be addressed in all fields,
regardless of whether they are development-related or not, and in all international forums. This is
particularly the case for education, vocational training and economic inclusion, humanitarian strategy,
and issues relating to the climate, the economy, demographics, and sexual and reproductive health and
 rights. The Strategy also advocates for gender equality issues to be tackled during bilateral political
meetings and to be included in the work of diplomatic posts.
 Support Fund for Feminist Organizations

 Announced in 2019 by the President of the Republic, the Support Fund for Feminist Organizations
supports civil society organizations operating in France’s development policy partner countries. Jointly
steered by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the AFD, it will provide €120 million over
three years (2020-2022) to finance the activities of feminist organizations worldwide. It is aimed at local
organizations promoting gender equality, the rights of women and girls, and gender issues.

IV. Posible sollutions

1. Employment

I. Take measures to tackle the gender pay gap in tourism.

II. Address social protection and unpaid work for women in tourism.

III. Systematically address the sexual harassment of women workers in the tourism sector, as well as issues of
harassment in tourism communities against community members and travelers.

IV. Develop and institutionalize gender equality strategies for the tourism sector.

V. Challenge gender-stereotypes in tourism sub-occupations.

2. Entrepreneurship

I. Work to ensure that women’s tourism businesses can become formalized, if they wish to be, and contribute to
women’s financial inclusion.

II. Expand and diversify women’s market access and fair trade for their tourism products and services.

III. Support women to expand and diversify their tourism products and services.

IV. Introduce measures to improve women’s work-life balance in tourism and encourage an equal division of
unpaid care work in tourism communities.

V. Expand women’s access to digital technologies, including digital tourism platforms.

3. Leadership, policy and decision-making

I. Work towards gender balance in senior management of tourism companies.

II. Address the lack of high-level women’s leadership in decision-making spaces in the private sector, public
sector tourism bodies and agencies.

III. Ensure ILO policies on maternity and care responsibilities are respected.
IV. Actively support women’s representation and leadership in trade unions. For the full Global Report on
Women in Tourism – Second edition, visit the UNWTO Elibrary at : www.e-unwto.org

4. Education and training

I. Develop training programmes for women in tourism, including training on soft skills, networking and high-
level training for career progression.

II. Provide targeted training for women to ensure that they can use digital technologies to innovate through
digital technologies in tourism.

III. Provide gender equality training for tourism policy-makers, managers and employees.

IV. Encourage the participation of female students and graduates in tourism studies and qualifications.

5. Community and civil society

I. Facilitate women’s voice in community and household decision-making.

II. Ensure gender equality and human rights commitments at the national level are met and implemented
effectively.

III. Support women’s tourism networks, NGOs and tourism cooperatives to actively work towards women’s
empowerment in the sector.

6. Measurement for better policies

I. Regularly collect and report data that is disaggregated by sex on employment in the tourism sector and,
where possible, formal and informal tourism employment, gender pay gaps, entrepreneurship, education and
training, leadership and decision-making, time use and work-life balance.

II. Regularly provide data disaggregated by sex on employment in the tourism sector to UNWTO.

III. Conduct gender analysis, consult civil society actors, integrate a gender perspective into all phases of the
tourism policy and programme cycle.

V. References/Works used

https://blogs.worldbank.org/psd/empowering-women-through-tourism-0

https://www.unwto.org/gender-and-tourism

https://www.e-unwto.org/pb

assets/unwto/191121_action_plan_women_in_tourism_2nd_ed.pdf

https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/9789284420384

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/human-rights/women-s-rights/
https://onu.delegfrance.org/Gender-equality-a-priority-for-France