Purpose This paper aims to provide an action-orientated reflection for promoting gender equality in hospitality, based on Bradley’s (2013) approach that considers the operation of gender in the “production” and “reproduction” spheres of social life. To that end, it reflects on women’s career development in hospitality based on the Western perspective. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage thematic analysis of a public research seminar on gender issues in tourism and hospitality were used to explore issues of women’s career development within the intertwining spheres of “production” and “reproduction”. Findings Three themes, namely, culture of an open dialogue, bringing men into the equation and educating the future workforce, emerged from data to propose new insights on “what can be done” about gender equality in tourism and hospitality, including practical suggestions for transformations of gender relations in organisations. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes new knowledge on women’s career development in the hospitality industry by proposing recommendations to address gender gaps including fostering a culture of an open dialogue based on an inclusive listening environment, recommending changes to organisational policies and culture and integrating the subject of gender into tourism and hospitality curriculum. Originality/value By proposing a sociological perspective of gender in hospitality employment informed by Bradley (2013), this study challenges the traditional masculinity and the long-standing gender labour division through education, organisational and daily practices thus tackling fundamental gender issues.
Purpose This paper aims to examine the interplay between self-efficacy and career inheritance and its influence on career commitment in the hospitality sector. High labour turnover, unclear career paths and the transient nature of the work available in hospitality render it a suitable industry context that allows us to explore career commitment patterns. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on life history methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospitality professionals holding a relevant degree but no longer employed in the hospitality industry. Findings The findings revealed the interplay between self-efficacy, career inheritance and career commitment, as well as the speed of decline of career commitment, visualised as patterns of the leaving process. Although an infinite number of variations are possible, data unveiled the three main patterns. Research limitations/implications The schematic illustrations of the patterns of the leaving process are not representative. The purposive sample comprises only ex-hospitality professionals, and generalisations can be considered in future studies. Practical implications This newly conceptualised understanding of career commitment enables researchers to reconsider the fundamental reasons why individuals leave the hospitality industry, whilst also offering hospitality managers deeper insights into how the three identified patterns could inform recruitment and selection. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature through its meaningful theoretical extension in the context of career development studies. The unique concept of the leaving process addresses the prevalent issue of turnover and generates important implications.
This article provides new insights on what makes hospitality professionals by proposing a new framework: the personology of a hospitality professional. This framework is based on an in-depth analysis of the literature on self-efficacy, career inheritance and career commitment. Understanding the key characteristics of people who choose hospitality as their profession is of great importance to an industry that provides one in ten jobs worldwide, and in the United Kingdom alone employs 4.49 million people. The need for quality employees who consider hospitality a long-term career is of paramount importance. Stakeholders often perceive the hospitality industry as a hardworking and low-paying one. If employers wish to retain existing talent and also attract new talent, they need to have a better understanding of their employees’ key characteristics. The proposed personology will enable hospitality stakeholders to identify key indicators that aid in a deeper understanding of what constitutes a hospitality professional. This can facilitate the interview process and yield better recruitment and selection outcomes whilst contributing to the scarcity of knowledge on what being a hospitality professional entails.
Women are historically under-represented in senior management positions in almost all industries. Despite the UK hospitality industry being a major employer of women, there is a clear lack of women in management positions. This research aims to gain insight into the factors enabling women to access senior positions in the UK hospitality industry. Using the gendered organizations perspective, the study analyses female managers’ perceptions about their career advancement within this sector. It identifies key enablers and strategies to facilitate women’s career advancement. The findings reveal that despite improvements in career opportunities for women within the UK hospitality organizations, there is still a long way to go in terms of employment policies and practices that enable women’s career progression, which includes family-friendly practices; proactive and transparent gender equality measures; support networks and mentors; and personal development plan.
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