Gender in sustainable tourism – how women and men take part in the transformation to a more sustainable tourism in German tourism industry

• Brigitte Wotha ^[2] ; Dörte Beyer ^[1] ; Kendra Menking
  1. [1] Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

     Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

     Landkreis Barnim, Alemania

     
  2. [2] Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences
• Localización: Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento, ISSN 1645-9261, Nº. 27-28, 2, 2017 (Ejemplar dedicado a: INVTUR 2017 Intl' Conference), págs. 185-187
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Ejemplar
• Resumen

  • The paper takes a closer look at women’s influence and representation on the transformation process towards a more sustainable and social economy in the German tourism industry. Women are said to be particularly affected by environmental damage because they are obliged to take care of their family’s health. This leads to a controversial discussion about the role, responsibility and disposition of women in the transformation process (Mölders, 2015, pp. 164-167, Wichterich, 1995, pp. 106-127). A closer examination of the position and balance of influence of tourism employees is interesting due to following reasons. First, the conventional as well as the sustainable tourism industry are shaped by an above-average share of employed women. Secondly, many of the professional activities in the tourism economy rely on the availability of female-typed skills, such as hospitality or care. Jobs in the tourism industry with a predominantly female connotation are often tied to low status, low career prospect, low wage and sexual harassment (Lund-Durlacher, Bauernfeind & Hergesell, 2010; Madörin, 1996; Stuppäck, 2005). A principle of sustainability is intergenerational justice as well as gender justice (Katz et al., 2015, p. 15). Consequently, especially women would benefit from the implementation of sustainability. Lastly, the tourism industry depends in particular on a socially and ecologically intact environment. Ecofeminist research stated that women have a different approach to nature and a higher environmental awareness than men (Bauhardt, 2010, pp. 322 - 327; Schultz & Weller 1995).