Despite Efforts to Increase, Jordanian Women’s Participation in Tourism Sector Below Expectations

Aug. 27–AMMAN — Despite efforts to increase the number of Jordanian women in the tourism sector, their participation in this “dynamic” domain is still below expectations, according to a women’s rights advocacy society.

The Ministry of Tourism’s figures until March 31 of this year indicate that the number of workers in the field in Jordan stood at 48,257, of whom 17.6 per cent are non-Jordanians.

Women constituted around 10 per cent of the labour force in the sector, a figure that disappoints Sisterhood Is Global (SIGI)-Jordan, which cited the “failure” of the 2011-2015 National Tourism Strategy in increasing women’s participation in the tourism industry.

“The strategy aimed at raising Jordanian women’s engagement in the sector to at least 15 per cent until 2015. However, the plan is about to conclude and the ratio remains as it was in previous years,” said SIGI in a statement received by The Jordan Times on Thursday.

On the other hand, Fayyad Sukkar, head of the Tourism Ministry’s research and studies department, said having 10 per cent of women in the sector in a country like Jordan is not a bad figure.

“With the culture of shame still prevailing in the tourism and hospitality sectors, even among men, having 10 per cent of women serving in the field is a good thing, although we aspire for more,” he told The Jordan Times.

According to the ministry, 1,054 women work in hospitality, 1,536 in restaurants, 1,412 in travel agencies, 200 in oriental antiques shops, 52 as tourist guides, 29 in car rental offices, 28 in tourism transportation and nine in diving centres.

SIGI noted that these figures have not changed in the previous years.

“Furthermore, the numbers show that most of the male and female workers in the sector serve in only five out of the 23 tourist areas, in Amman, Aqaba, Wadi Rum, Diseh, Petra and the Dead Sea,” the statement read.

Calling for more programmes and initiatives to eliminate obstacles hindering women’s participation in the sector, the society urged the ministry to identify the needs of women and their ability to overcome social stigma surrounding their work in tourism.

Sukkar underlined the ministry’s commitment to continue encouraging more women to enter the field, noting that the upcoming strategy will focus on raising their participation in the sector to between 15 to 20 per cent.