• Tourism from a gender perspective

  Gender inequality has remained a global social issue occupying the international agenda for years, with minimal progress achieved worldwide. It has also been included among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set during the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015. In this respect, international organizations have suggested that the tourism sector, which employs a high number of women due to horizontal stratification, should be promoted as a tool to strengthen women's positions. A robust body of literature highlights the significant role tourism plays in empowering women. These studies predominantly focus on the working conditions of women employed in specific tourism regions or fields, thus remaining at a micro level. However, the broader macroeconomic spillover effects of female employment in this sector are often overlooked in the general literature. Through induced effects, the tourism sector can expand male employment at the expense of female employment on a national scale. The sector's forward and backward linkages to male-dominated fields such as construction, technical services, and transportation can restrict the national spillover effect of female employment generated within tourism. Consequently, while the tourism sector is recommended as a means of promoting women's empowerment, it may lead to unequal development in national female employment, potentially resulting in outcomes contrary to policy objectives.

Tourism sector

The tourism sector, with its high domestic value added, is one of the sectors that generates the highest foreign exchange earnings compared to other export-oriented sectors. While tourism has a high share in the service sector, it also indirectly affects other sectors through backward linkages. As in other service sectors, labor demand is continuous as production is carried out with labor-intensive techniques. In addition, as a result of the “feminization” of the service sector, or the horizontal stratification of relational work carried out mostly by women, the tourism sector has been the focus of policies aimed at women's empowerment as a sector where women are predominantly employed. Especially the fact that accommodation and food and beverage production are considered women's work in patriarchal societies has made tourism a sector where women constitute the majority.

Why Tourism and Gender

Gender-based discrimination is among the most significant reasons for the challenges women face in working life, including access to employment opportunities, wages, working conditions, and social security. It also constitutes a barrier to sustainable development. Prejudices and obstacles caused by gender lead to inequalities between men and women in tourism, a sector critical for national economies and development, as in all sectors. While sex refers to the biological distinction between men and women, gender refers to the socially constructed and culturally sourced differences between men and women, highlighting the unequal social division between “masculinity” and “femininity” (Marshall, 1998). The roles, behaviors, and attributes constructed by society for men and women are expressed through the concept of gender (UNDP, 2019). Gender often has negative implications for women in the labor market. Gender segregation in employment refers to unequal participation rates and occupational structures between men and women. Occupational gender segregation occurs in two ways: vertical segregation, where men cluster at the top of professional hierarchies and women at the bottom, and horizontal segregation, where men and women perform different tasks at the same occupational level, with women assigned lower responsibilities (Marshall, 1998). Unemployment and the lack of decent work remain major global issues, with women particularly disadvantaged in labor force participation rates. Globally, 78% of men (aged 15–64) are in the labor market, compared to 55% of women (WEF, 2019). This disparity is a significant factor in preventing women’s economic independence and deepening gender inequality. The World Bank research reveals striking results regarding the impact of this inequality on the global economy. The results reveal that while women’s participation in the workforce accounts for 37% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), eliminating gender-based discrimination and achieving equal participation by women and men in the workforce could increase the global GDP by an additional 26% by 2025 (World Bank, 2017). When assessing Türkiye's position on gender equality, it is evident that the country lags far behind the average of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states. Due to factors such as low participation of women in employment, politics, and decision-making mechanisms, Türkiye ranks 130th out of 144 countries in the "Global Gender Gap Index" (Special Commission Report on the Role of Women in Development, 2018). Women’s employment and labor force participation in Türkiye are significantly lower than men’s. According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) as of December 2019, the labor force participation rate in Türkiye is 72% for men and 34.4% for women. The inequality against women extends beyond access to employment opportunities to include wage conditions. A report titled Measurement of Gender-Based Wage Gap: Türkiye Implementation, prepared in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Turkish Statistical Institute, highlights this disparity. Based on 2018 data, the wage gap between men and women favors men by 21.1%. The report also addresses the wage gap between mothers and fathers, noting a difference of 19% (Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Services, 2020). The unfavorable quantitative representation of women in employment reflects a similar qualitative picture. According to the Household Labor Force Survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the proportion of male managers in Türkiye was 82.7% in 2017, compared to 17.3% for female managers (IKV, 2019). Similarly, 2019 ILO data indicate that women’s share in employment in Türkiye is 25%, their share in total management is 13%, their representation in top executive positions in enterprises is below 10%, and their share in middle and senior management is under 12% (Akgül, 2020). Tourism, as a labor-intensive sector within the service industry, has significant economic impacts. Although women’s employment in various sectors is lower than men’s, the number of women employed in tourism is higher. Globally, approximately 61 million women are employed in the tourism sector (UNWTO, 2019). Tourism provides new employment opportunities for women and plays a crucial role in their active participation in the workforce. Based on 2019 data, while women’s employment globally across all sectors is 44.6%, it is 54% in the tourism sector (Yetiş and Çalışkan, 2020). However, Türkiye is among the countries in Europe with the lowest proportion of women employees in tourism; women’s employment in accommodation and food and beverage services is 14.83% (Akgül, 2020). Although women make up the majority of the tourism sector workforce, they tend to occupy the lowest-paid and lowest-status positions (UNWTO, 2019). Gender-based division of labor plays a significant role in shaping women’s positions in tourism. Women are often employed in lower-level roles in departments like housekeeping, kitchens, and service areas, which are perceived as extensions of domestic work. The 2019 Global Report on Women in Tourism by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) highlights women’s distance from decision-making positions in the sector. While 70% of employees in the accommodation sector are women, they account for only 40% of managerial roles, 20% of general management positions, and less than 8% of senior executive roles (Akgül, 2020). The UNWTO report also provides data on the gender pay gap in the tourism sector, revealing that women earn approximately 15% less than men in similar roles. Beyond low wages, women also frequently work as unpaid family laborers in family-owned businesses (UNWTO, 2019). Gender inequality partially limits women’s access to benefits such as health insurance and pensions, which are tied to formal employment. Due to societal expectations, women often choose jobs with flexible working hours or part-time positions to care for family members, or they move into informal employment. Since social security systems require formal employment and regular premium payments, women not only face low wages but also lose access to employment-related benefits such as social security. Additionally, the tourism sector is characterized by long and demanding working hours, seasonal employment relationships, a lower demand for educated and skilled labor compared to other sectors, and low rates of unionization and collective bargaining. These factors also influence the roles and positions of women employed in the tourism sector (Yetişkin and Çalışkan, 2020). Gender inequality is a significant barrier to women’s efforts to achieve economic independence. Research conducted with the participation of tourism business managers in Ankara to determine the impact of the roles and responsibilities determined for women and men on women's employment highlights that while the primary motivation for women to work is economic independence, the main reason for leaving their jobs is the conflict between work and family responsibilities (Ikiz, 2020). This research is particularly noteworthy for demonstrating how gender impacts the position of women employed in the sector. Participants indicated that although women are believed to influence organizational productivity positively, jobs in the tourism sector are divided by gender. Women are hired for jobs deemed suitable for their gender, while men are employed in more demanding roles requiring flexibility. The study also found that managers rationalize this gender-based division by citing reasons such as specific job requirements (Ikiz, 2020). In another research conducted with women employees in tourism businesses in Şanlıurfa, more than half of the participants stated that there is a division of jobs as "women’s work" and "men’s work" in the sector. Additionally, approximately 60% of the participants expressed the opinion that there is a wage gap between men and women (Çakır et al., 2017). In connection with women’s employment, women remain in secondary positions when it comes to establishing their own businesses. Research involving 40 women entrepreneurs in prominent tourism regions, including Alanya, Kaş, Bodrum, and Marmaris, examined the effects of gender inequality on women’s entrepreneurship. The participants emphasized the barriers women face in starting their businesses. The study highlighted that from the perspective of men being seen as responsible for providing for the family, women’s contributions to the family economy are undervalued. It also pointed out that women’s work and entrepreneurship are not widely accepted (Altındal, 2016).

Gender in Tourism Research

Through the employment opportunities it creates for women, the tourism sector has a positive impact on gender inequality through material improvements at the relational and macro levels of the gender structure. Compared to other sectors, the hiring requirements in the tourism sector are relatively low; therefore, women, whose work experience and qualifications lag behind men, are more likely to be employed in this sector. Hence, on a relational level, women who have the opportunity to work in the tourism sector not only increase their representation rates and reduce their performance concerns but also facilitate their access to social solidarity networks that can combat cultural stereotypes about them. They also increase their gender awareness and consciousness in the cultural dimension by increasing their income at the macro level and having the opportunity to improve their skills. Despite these advantages over women's labor, the tourism sector might also lead to an increase in the gender gap by immobilizing women in relatively low job positions. In this respect, studies examining the gender structure in the tourism sector at the macro level mainly focus on the discussion of strengthening women's position in society through tourism employment. The concept of empowerment from a gender perspective includes the social, economic, and political transformation of women's control over their lives and how they are empowered to act together to bring about these transformations. In this context, women's employment in paid work can be considered a necessary requirement for their economic empowerment. However, studies show that women's employment has contradictory economic consequences. While macro-level studies reveal that women work in more exploitative production structures (export-oriented sectors) and informal sectors, micro-level studies suggest that women are empowered in everyday life (Him, 2020). The same dilemma can be found in the literature on the empowerment of women employed in the tourism sector. Many studies on tourism reveal that women are predominantly employed in relatively low-paid positions such as cleaning, accommodation, and reception, and that the division of jobs in the sector is structured accordingly (Sinclair, 1997). On the other hand, country- or narrow region-based empirical and qualitative studies, which cover the majority of the tourism and gender literature, reveal that women are empowered in many ways through tourism employment. First, tourism employment enables women to be financially independent from men in the family. Many studies have shown that new job opportunities in the tourism sector, which lead to financial independence, also offer women more comfortable working conditions compared to their traditional workloads, support their entrepreneurial activities, strengthen their ability to take control of their income, and raise their qualifications through job training. Micro-based studies have shown that women's economic empowerment provides them with the self-confidence and organizational opportunities to transform and fight against the conditions imposed by the patriarchal social structure in which they live.

Women's Employment in Tourism

Another perception that hinders women's employment in tourism is the prejudice against women working outside the home. A study on women's employment in tourism in the Cappadocia region reveals that it is not considered appropriate for women to work in the tourism sector, that tourism is a job for men, and that it is more appropriate for women to stay at home. It is argued that some of the social barriers to women's employment in Türkiye are the interaction of the concept of gender with culture. Examples of these include harassment, gossip, and honor. It is claimed that employers and women's husbands do not look favorably on women's employment due to such perceptions. It is believed that the perception of the interaction between men and women as an unpleasant situation due to the inculcation of gender differences at an early age is among the unbreakable taboos of women's employment today. It is argued that families' preference for avoiding interactions with male individuals outside the family, coupled with political authorities expressing views that support this stance, reinforces the negative perception in society regarding men and women being together for any purpose. Although the tourism sector poses numerous challenges for women, it is considered to be a great opportunity for achieving gender equality. It is believed that as the number of women employed in the sector increases, the perception of “working women” in their families and circles will change over time. It is stated that it is not only important for the family and the social environment but also for tourism authorities to realize that a tourism sector without women cannot survive.

Challenges for Women in the Tourism Sector

According to TurkStat 2018-2024 data, although women's participation in business life in managerial positions has increased, this rate is not considered sufficient. It cannot be said that women have progressed at the same rate as men. As reported by Anadolu Agency, the proportion of women in managerial positions in Türkiye was 14.4% in 2012, which increased to 16.3% in 2018. Although this represents a 1.9% increase, it is evident that the growth over the years has remained quite modest. Among the reasons cited for the lack of women in managerial positions are behavioral issues in the workplace and discouraging attitudes that undermine women's confidence and enthusiasm. Even in sectors where women are highly represented, the predominance of male managers stands out as a notable issue. Despite women attaining a good level of education today, the number of women in managerial positions is reported to be below expectations. One reason for this is the lack of equal opportunities during recruitment processes. Since men and women are often hired at different levels, women tend to lag behind men in terms of career advancement due to their initial status. Another perspective attributes this issue to discriminatory policies, such as vertical and horizontal discrimination. For example, horizontal discrimination can be seen when male employees in the same position as female employees take on more responsibilities. It is worth noting that these responsibilities are often taken strategically to facilitate promotions. Vertical discrimination, on the other hand, refers to women being assigned lower-status roles with fewer responsibilities, which keeps them in the background. As a result, men are more likely than women to occupy managerial positions. Fundamentally, due to women’s nurturing roles and their responsibilities toward their homes and children, they are unable to dedicate sufficient time to their jobs. This often forces women to work harder than men to earn promotions or climb the career ladder, leading to slower or even no progress in some cases. Additionally, it is believed that compared to men, women seeking promotions or managerial positions are sometimes compelled to sacrifice time with their families or even separate from them. Challenges faced by women in professional life include representation issues, mobbing (psychological harassment or attrition policies), the glass ceiling, and the queen bee syndrome. In the tourism sector—known as the smokeless industry of the service sector—women constitute the majority of the workforce. This is mainly attributed to the perception that many jobs in the tourism sector are more "feminine." Jobs such as cooking, cleaning, welcoming guests, and preparing meals are considered inherently female roles, leading to a higher concentration of women in the tourism workforce. However, it is evident that these roles are predominantly categorized as low-level jobs. Even in the tourism sector, it can be observed that women are employed in roles that do not allow them to rise to key positions (e.g., managerial roles). This situation is described as an invisible system that hinders women’s career advancement, regardless of their achievements or merit. The presence of the glass ceiling syndrome is well-documented not only in the tourism sector but across many industries. The concept of mobbing is essentially a phenomenon based on psychological violence. As in other sectors, the tourism industry also experiences mobbing. Reasons for mobbing against women include male managers preventing women’s promotions, men’s preference for male managers due to a patriarchal mindset, and the perception of workplaces as part of men’s social environments. Men can cope with workplace stress more easily as they socialize more than women. Women, however, often return to their homes and children—considered their responsibility—after work, which places them in a continuous cycle of work and home, making it harder for them to withstand psychological pressures. Another reason for hesitation in appointing women to managerial roles is related to pregnancy, maternity duties, and the possibility of women taking time off work. These factors are seen as obstacles to appointing women to leadership positions. Queen Bee Syndrome is another issue, defined as women in high positions aligning more closely with men, distancing themselves from other women, and making things difficult for female colleagues. This behavior involves adopting a male-oriented mindset and altering their position accordingly. As in other sectors, such syndromes are also observed in the tourism industry.

• Women's Labor in Tourism field research

  The aim of the field research on “Women's Labor in Tourism” is “to examine the challenges faced by women working or wishing to work in the tourism sector in the Kaçkar Mountains National Park and Fırtına Valley Basin and to propose solutions, and to determine the status of tourism-oriented women's entrepreneurship in the Kaçkar Mountains National Park and Fırtına Valley Basin.”

  Research Location

  The research was conducted in 33 rural settlements within the Kaçkar Mountains National Park and Fırtına Valley Basin. Rural Settlements Covered in the Study:
  1. Ayder Plateau
  2. Huser Plateau
  3. Kaçkar Plateau
  4. Kaleköy Plateau
  5. Karap Plateau
  6. Karmik Plateau
  7. Karunç Plateau
  8. Kavrun Plateau (Lower and Upper Kavrun Plateaus)
  9. Gito Plateau
  10. Koçdüzü Plateau
  11. Komati Plateau
  12. Komati Plateau
  13. Lakubar Plateau
  14. Lordeçur Plateau
  15. Nafkar Plateau
  16. Ovit Plateau
  17. Palakçur Plateau
  18. Palovit Plateau
  19. Pokut Plateau
  20. Sal Plateau
  21. Samistal Plateau
  22. Topluca Plateau
  23. Trovit Plateau
  24. Verçenik Plateau
  25. Dikkaya Village
  26. Kale Village
  27. Meydan Village
  28. Ortaklar Village
  29. Ortayayla Village
  30. Şenköy, Çamlıhemşin
  31. Şenyuva Village
  32. Yukarışimşirli Village
  33. Zilkale Village
  

  Research Methodology

  In the first step, a comprehensive literature review was conducted within the framework of the research objectives to prepare for the survey studies. Fundamental statistical data on ecological tourism were obtained. In the second step, a questionnaire form consisting of 26 questions was developed in collaboration with the experts of Limitsizsiniz Danışmanlık [Consultancy] and the project team. The field research was conducted in June 2024 in 33 rural areas in Kaçkar Mountains National Park and Fırtına Valley, with face-to-face interviews with 1200 people. Interviews were conducted by experts from Limitsizsiniz Danışmanlık [Consultancy] and representatives of Kaçed Association. A total of 1200 participants answered the questionnaire. In the third step, the data obtained in the field were analyzed. The questionnaire responses collected in the research were analyzed using the SPSS for Windows 19.0 program after data editing by the experts of Limitsizsiniz Danışmanlık [Consultancy]. Analyses included graphical representations of percentage distributions, cross-evaluations of demographic features, and multidimensional scaling analyses of categorical questions and demographic data.

  After the field research on "Women's Labor in Tourism" was conducted, a comprehensive and detailed research report was prepared and printed in 50 copies. Field Research Report Booklet:

  

Training booklets

Six information booklets have been prepared and published within the scope of the project:

• PHONE NUMBER

  0542 805 16 53

• ADDRESS

  yasar@kaced.org

• WEBSITE

  www.turizmvecinsiyet.net