According to the UN, tourism has a pivotal role to play in achieving the objectives at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 5: gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The last Global Report on Women in Tourism provides us with a lot of statistical data and in depth examples of good practices from 18 countries, to illustrate the contribution tourism is making towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5, achieving Gender Equality and empowering all Women and Girls.

Challenges and tools for gender equality in tourism

The Global Report on Women in Tourism examines key factors that contribute to gender equality in the tourism sector, pinpointing challenges and identifying ways to mitigate inequality and harness tourism’s potential to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide.

It shows that in most regions of the world, women make up the majority of the tourism workforce, but they tend to be concentrated in the lowest paid and lowest status jobs, and they perform a large amount of unpaid work in family tourism businesses.

Nevertheless, the report demonstrates a clear case for tourism’s potential as a vehicle for gender equality and women’s empowerment. In fact, in the tourism sector the gender pay gap is lower than in other businesses, and tourism offers wider opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship, especially thanks to one of the most exciting developments of recent years: digital platforms.

Technology is a key issue for gender equality in all sectors, including tourism. Digital platforms are rapidly becoming important parts of the tourism sector – with an influence that cuts across world regions and major tourism industries, from accommodation to tour operators and transport. Integrating a gender perspective in technology is particularly important due to the overwhelming male dominance within the sphere of information technology (IT).

Fairbnb.coop hosts: find out how many of them are women

Most of our hosts are women, who manage their vacation rental themselves: especially if you are a female traveller, this will make you feel even more comfortable during your stay. By browsing our destinations, you will be able to search for female hosts of rooms, b&b and holiday homes: their names and photos are displayed in all listings. They are locals who have lived in your visited destination for several years and will provide you with awesome insider tips that will help you to avoid the usual tourism traps and to experience the true soul of their city.

Here are some of the options you have available in different European cities:

• Maria’s North Star Flat in Vila Nova de Gaia and Ana’s Romantic Apartment in downtown Porto;
• The charming Andalusian holiday homes of Victoria and Belén, with view on the Alhambra in Granada;
• Fannie’s Apartment overlooking the sea of Marseille;
• In Venice you can book a stay in the historical Palazzo Ca’ Bernardi in San Polo, managed by Luisa Cristiana.
• In Liguria you can find hospitality in enchanting old villages overlooking the sea, such as at Cristina’s Residence Ca’ di Nì in Finale Ligure or Chiara’s Cinque Terre d’Amare flats in Riomaggiore, but also in an agritourism such as Valentina’s Terra del Bosco, close to Tuscany.

Fairbnb.coop social projects: gender equality is among our goals

In each of our destinations, we use 50% of our platform fees to fund social projects and initiatives that aim to improve the sustainability and resilience of local communities. Many of these projects are aimed at strengthening the inclusion and participation of citizens, and at achieving gender equality.

In Amsterdam, for example, we support the Bloei en Groei Association, whose goal is to empower immigrant women through their work in urban gardens: healing, food and community garden for neighbourhoods and districts where they are most needed, mostly in Amsterdam Southeast. Besides the cultivation of vegetables, women can also work on a personal flowering project.

“Gardening is an activity that I can fully absorb. You can be yourself, but you are also part of the whole.”

In Porto we help the work of the more than 100 volunteers of G.A.S. PORTO, a Solidarity Action Group that aspires to a society where, whenever possible, the elderly have the opportunity to age at home with quality of life and dignity. For this, Abraço Amigo project (means Friendly Hug) promotes weekly home visits to more than 60 Senior people in Porto city center, for most women, to fight their loneliness.

Alongside, G.A.S. PORTO develops cognitive and physical stimulation activities that reinforce their autonomy and support them in their daily activities. The main goal is to encourage active and healthy aging with greater social integration and reliable relationships.

Do you have a great idea in support of gender equality in the community you live in? Or your project needs help getting off the ground? Propose it as a beneficiary of Fairbnb.coop’s crowdfunding: you will soon be contacted by our staff that will guide you through the onboarding process!

P.S.: These articles from our blog might also be interesting for you:

• Solo female traveler: 5 effective ways to meet people
• 17 UN SDGs: Fairbnb.coop contribution to sustainability
• Social projects, the differentiating value of Fairbnb.coop