From Vision to Reality: Politics and Gender in Jordan's Tourism Sector H.E Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, Jordan

Transcription

1 From Vision to Reality: Politics and Gender in Jordan's Tourism Sector H.E Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, Jordan September 2011 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Middle East Program

2 MILLSTONES IN THE JOURNEY OF WOMEN S RIGHTS PROTECTION On the International Level: Beijing Conference Beijing Platform for Action On the Arab Level Nairobi Conference Nairobi forwardlooking Strategy Copenhagen Conference Equality, Development, Peace 1979 CEDAW Convention Preamble and thirty applied articles 1975 Mexico Conference Equality, Developm ent, Peace th High-level Arab Conference Unified Arab Report High-Level Arab Conference Arab Plan for the Advancement of Women Establishment of the Arab Women Organization Arab women Strategy 2000 Arab Strategy for the Advancement of Women Women s Advancement Strategy st High-level Arab Conference on Women 1 st Arab Plan of Action on Women 1971 Establishment of Women s Committee/ Arab League Women s Department at the League

3 Data from UNWTO Global Report on Women in Tourism 2010 Women make up a large proportion of the tourism sector worldwide Tourism sector has almost twice as many women employers as other sectors Women are well represented in service and clerical level jobs but poorly represented at operational levels Women in tourism are earning 10% to 15% less than their male counterparts One in five tourism ministers worldwide are women In the business world, gender equality has proven to be profitable. This fact opens up new and interesting opportunities in the tourism sector, where the enormous potential of women has not been fully harnessed

4 Women Working in Tourism Sector in 2010 Women in the tourism labor force is 10%, national average is 14% Total number of women working in tourism is approx 4,100 Employment in the hotel sector is 14,931, only 7.3% are women there are about 888 tour guides, only 44 are females Item Hotels Tourism Restaurants Travel Agencies Rent a Car Offices Tourist Shops Tourist Guides Horses Guides Tourist Transport Diving Centers Water Sports Total 2010 Gender Total Female Male 14,931 1,121 13,810 17,503 1,628 15,875 4,179 1,137 3,042 1, , ,662 4,157 37,505

5 Why Jordanian Women Do Not Work in Tourism Cultural norms and values, Tourism sectors negative image Inadequate infrastructure Financial burden on employers Working culture (alien working culture, harassment, working hours, & long hours and difficulty in combining work & family life) Skills shortage and lack of social skills

6 Tourism Employers Perception of Women 80% report fewer women applying for jobs 60% report difficulty to find women with qualifications and skills their companies need 50% believe that hiring women creates organizational problems Women are mostly employed in the: Front office, Guest relations, Sales, Hostess (non-jordanians), Waitresses European Training Foundation Report on Women & Work in Jordan November 2010 (not published)

7 The jobless rate for females is 24.4% 26.5% of unemployed females have a Bachelor degree or higher Unemployment rate for bachelor s degree holders is almost 10% for males and 26% for females The ratio of female to male in universities is 1:6 in hospitality and tourism programs Pre-employment attrition for universities and colleges is high amongst females Government, Education system, Employers, NGO s, Civil society and Media HM Queen Rania Al- Abdullah opens Madaba Center for Tourism Training Data from the Tourism Human Resource Development Plan prepared by USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project

8 The National Tourism Strategy One of the key achievements for implementing the National Tourism Strategy / Pillar 3 - Strengthening HRs was growing the female participation in the workforce to 10% The newly launched National Tourism Strategy targets increasing the females participation in the workforce to 15%. Jordan will continue working hard to position the industry as an attractive career and employment choice, and increase the active participation of females to boost the tourism workforce.

9 The National Tourism Strategy According to NTS, other measurable outcomes should : attract more women into the industry: by encouraging them to take up studies in hotel and tourism programs, and then by providing them with transparent post-qualification career advancement opportunities; Reform and upgrade the national secondary school vocational stream in tourism and hospitality, known as the Fundukia program. This program is offered in 26 men secondary schools, public and private, in the Kingdom. Only one of these schools, accept women; and Working through the Ministry of Education, the program offering, system and facilities will be reformed, including increasing enrolment of women, and enhancing awareness for them Other Policy recommendations are:

10 Organize media awareness campaigns - to change negative perceptions of working women in tourism Influence mindset via education - Embed in curricula and textbooks positive images of working women in non traditional tourism fields Raise awareness about unequal division of labor in families and limits their employment opportunities

11 Organize career guidance early at school level Encourage women through career guidance to consider careers in tourism Provide mentoring for graduates leaving education in: social skills, communication skills, assertive skills, job seeking, work ethics Provide courses to foster entrepreneurial spirit in women Improve practical training and internship give women the first step on the career ladder

12 Encourage employers through fiscal incentives to provide more on job training for women Design and organize induction schemes for women joining the workforce in: assertiveness, leadership and soft career skills Introduce a mentoring system by more senior females for new comers to the workplace

13 Regulate provision of maternity arrangements, child care at work, transport and flexi working arrangements Regulate part time work with regard to social protection, leave, promotion and training Provide tax benefits to employers investing in employing women Encourage employers to provide women only facilities restrooms, changing rooms

14 Provide career guidance specific training on rights and obligations of female workers Organize company level awareness raising training on harassment and discrimination issues for workers and managers Provide practical training programs as part of curricula in gender mixed working environment, prepare women and men to work together Develop an industry code of conduct to address discrimination and harassment

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16 Tourism Awareness Campaigns Tourism Awareness Campaigns: Reaching over 1.5 million students at the school and university levels via various tourism competitions.

17 Field Visits Parents and family of all female students planning on joining hospitality programs are taken on a field visit to hotels and tourism facilities to expose them to working environments

18 Open House Days at Colleges and Training Centers Parents and students get first hand information on tourism programs from instructors & women working in industry

19 Scholarships for Female Students Provide fully-funded tourism study scholarships for female students offered at 4 institutions

20 Cooking for Parents Days Annual event where male and female students cook and serve a meal for their parents at the study center

21 Secondary School Vocational Stream Fundukia Program: Ministry of Education to open first Fundukia Stream for Women in Aqaba in This stream was only available to males

22 Structured Internships Training institute and industry agreed a structured internship training for program for women graduating from college

23 Female Teachers and Counselors Training Centers employ female teachers, instructors and counselors to support the transition of females into all male centers

24 Producing Cultural Products: Handicrafts Emphasis on women-based cooperatives for handicrafts production

25 Tourist Police Providing jobs and increased tourist protection

26 Better Working Conditions & Support for Females Child care & Crèches facilities: three women's cooperatives are provided with a child crèche facility and staffing support Leading Hotel Employers Agree Working Conditions for Women: Employers agree women not required to work after 8.00 pm and transport to be provided free of charge

27 Success Stories Success Story Role Models: Identified and trained successful female role models to present and promote the opportunities for women in local communities, universities, colleges and vocational training centers Safety in Numbers Initiative: Marriott Hotel arranges women to work in housekeeping in groups supervised by a senior local community woman Enrollment in Vocational Training Centers: Now, females comprise 30% (360) of total enrolled students, up from zero in 2008 Support Design of Uniforms: Encouraged and supported tourism employers to design and provide uniforms which are culturally acceptable involve women workers in the designs

28 Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities & Gender MOTA is launching a Gender Awareness Initiative and is providing the infrastructure to lead this issue (in coordination with the Private Sector and Siyaha /USAID Project). The WB is providing support and the seed fund for this initiative. Creating a trained Gender Awareness and Follow-up Unit Forming a Steering Committee that represents all stakeholders including public and private sector entities, political and Media representatives A professional exchange program with countries that experienced Gender successes within the same culture (South-South Experience Exchange Program) is being prepared for

29 UNWTO Global Report on Women in Tourism, World Tourism Organization and UN Women, 2010 Gender in E-TVET: Extent of Women s participation & proposed strategies for change, Canadian International Development Agency, March 2009 Tourism Human Resource Development Plan for Jordan : , prepared by USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project, 2011 National Survey on Awareness and Attitudes Towards Tourism in Jordan, prepared by USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project, 2009 Women and Work in Jordan, A Case Study, European Training Foundation, November 2010