Gender Discrimination in Tour Guiding

Abstract

Women tend to be disadvantaged at work due to the various problems based on gender discrimination. Women's employment tends to be segregated both vertically and horizontally and across a wide variety of sectors. Women face gender discrimination in a wide variety of sub-sectors of tourism ranging from hospitality to tour guiding. This study explores gender discrimination in the tourist guiding profession. By adopting a dyadic perspective, this study investigates the difficulties experienced by both female and male tour guides. A convenience sampling was used to collect data from 15 female and 15 male tour guides. In collecting data, semi-structured interviews were used. The data collected from the tour guides were analysed qualitatively. By comparing the difficulties experienced by the male and female tour guides, the extent and the nature of gender discrimination have been identified. Based on the outcomes of the study regarding the extent and nature of discrimination, policy guidelines are offered for the practitioners and the stakeholders.