UNWTO has released its Inclusive Recovery Guide for women in tourism to mark International Women’s Day 2021. The compilation has been released in collaboration with UN Women and shows that women make up a majority of the tourism workforce, amounting to 54 percent. 

Women in tourism are more impacted than their male counterparts

The guide highlights that women in tourism are often concentrated in low-skilled or informal work. This directly implies that they are most affected by the consequences of the pandemic as compared to their male counterparts. In several cases, they are cut off from social and healthcare protections. António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations, said: “As the world marks International Women’s Day in the midst of a global pandemic, one stark fact is clear: the COVID-19 crisis has a woman’s face.”

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili adds, “Tourism is a proven driver of equality and opportunity. This unprecedented crisis has hit our sector’s women fast and hard, which is why gender equality and empowerment must be centre stage as we work together to restart tourism and accelerate recovery.”

A year into the pandemic has revealed that women’s economic and social insecurity has only increased. Things have worsened because of a rise in unpaid care work and domestic violence. The guide provides recommendations to policymakers, businesses and civil society actors in tourism for designing gender-responsive measures.

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