Asia Presents Even Steeper Challenges for Female Travel Leaders Today

25.08.2023 - 14:02 / skift.com / Asia Pacific / Today

Attracting and developing talent is arguably the most critical factor needed for the travel industry to make a complete recovery. Although women represent approximately 55 percent of the travel industry’s workforce, the vast majority of them, however, occupy lower-level positions. They were also among the workers most impacted by the pandemic.

Our mega industry cannot recover or capture its great potential without improving career opportunities for women. There are opportunities for progress in diversity and inclusion in all sectors and most countries.  

But the challenges women in Asia in particular face could fill a book. On the occasion of International Women’s Day on Wednesday, I’d like to remind your readers of the biggest obstacles the continent presents for women working in travel and tourism.

Preferential treatment of western, usually white male executives is a commonly accepted practice in Asia and more over than in the West. Colonialism has had a complex impact on Asian women’s career progression.  On one hand, colonial powers introduced Western education and corporate opportunities that allowed some women to pursue careers outside of traditional gender roles. Unfortunately, colonialism also reinforced patriarchal business cultures and created multi-layered, deep socio-economic power disparities.

Hollywood is famous for the producer-to-aspiring-actress-power disparity. Imagine the power disparity between a Western expatriate and young Asian women escaping the poverty of their rural villages. Colonialism has contributed to white male executives favoring their own for promotions and assignments as well as the discrimination toward Asian female job seekers. This sense of entitlement can also enable pursuit of corrupt self-interests. It also makes Asian women feel that leadership roles are just not attainable. 

Some common expectations include politeness, humility, non-confrontation and respect for hierarchy. These expectations impact the way Asian women communicate — or don’t — in the workplace and can affect their career development.

Articulate Asian women can get backlash and the label “disrespectful” when just voicing their opinion, asking a question and speaking as an equal. Silence is the preferred default rather than challenging the status quo. Asians in general prefer not to speak publicly as keeping a low profile is more respected than seeming to “grandstand.” Asian female leaders often refrain from taking the stage. Sadly, this exacerbates their lack of visibility.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that taller individuals were perceived as having greater leadership potential than shorter individuals. In reality, aspects such as communication skills,