The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has issued a new set of guidelines designed to put women’s empowerment at the heart of tourism’s restart. Specifically, the principles are meant to help both governments and businesses better address the needs of women in the tourism sector.

Developed with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and UN Women, they aim to ensure an inclusive and resilient recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. Also, they recognize that, given the disproportionate loss of employment suffered by women, as well as the high proportion of women workers within tourism and their concentration in lower-skilled and lower-paid jobs, plans for the sector’s restart and recovery must address their specific needs.

Tourism as a driver of equality

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili says: “The restart of tourism must include everyone, and the benefits must be enjoyed by all. Tourism has proven itself a true champion of gender equality and these new guidelines will help both governments and businesses harness the sector’s power as a driver of women’s empowerment as the world opens up again.”

The guidelines for the public sector provide specific tools to support national, regional, local, and other tourism institutions, focusing on policies, programs and thematic issues in the tourism sector. Meanwhile, the strategy for businesses is intended to support tourism enterprises of all types and sizes to achieve effective and consistent strategies and programmes for gender equality across their operations.

Commitment to women

The recently published gender mainstreaming guidelines continue UNWTO’s work on women’s empowerment and are in line with a growing trend within tourism to address gender inequalities. The guidelines stand alongside a growing number of similar initiatives such as the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP’s) or the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting scheme.

Moreover, these guidelines provide concrete recommendations for governments working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Goal 5 – Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment) and the objectives of international women’s rights treaties such as ILO Conventions 100, 111, 156, 183 and 190 or the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Webinar

UNWTO is inviting interested parties to join a special webinar on March 16 at 9 a.m. EST), presenting both guidelines with key speakers from the sector. The event will explain what exactly gender mainstreaming is and why it is important in tourism, particularly for the public and private sectors. The webinar will be streamed live on the UNWTO YouTube channel.