Gender equality, or lack thereof, at managerial level in the local tourism sector

Abstract

Within one generation, women in Malta have moved from the traditional role of home-maker and morphed into a role which sees them multi-tasking and wanting it all: a home, children and a career, on par with men. Bolstered by their evolving emancipation, national and EU legislation favouring a family-work balance, their hard-earned qualifications and training, women in Malta have become more career-driven. However, once women, with all their ducks in a row, aspire to a managerial post, statistics show that they are often either not recruited or passed over for promotion. Even when women and men occupy the same position and perform the same tasks, the gender pay gap is evident. Traditional cultural and societal values may be keeping women from advancing up the corporate ladder, in what is still a male-dominated environment, notwithstanding strides in women's advancement towards participating at the decision-making level.

The situation of discrimination and gender inequality is also seen within the local tourism industry where, despite more generally favourable working conditions to compensate for its ever-evolving pace, seasonal nature and long day and night shifts, women find difficulty in breaking men' the “glass ceiling” and are traditionally pigeon-holed in low-paid, low level, culturally-stereotyped jobs. Employers within the local tourism industry may wish to make gender mainstreaming the focus of their strategies, thus enforcing national and EU legislation, so that women will be better employed and empowered and would contribute in greater measure to the industry and to the national economy.