Women question sexism in tourism industry

JAKARTA (JP): Women leaders from around Asia and the United States ended their three-day convention yesterday hoping to draw greater attention to the sexual discrimination that still prevails in most industries, especially tourism.

A researcher at Gadjah Mada University's Women's Studies Center in Yogyakarta said on Saturday that despite their increasing contribution to developing the tourism industry, women are still discriminated against in the industry.

Dwita Hadi Rahmi said women both here and in other countries are having to deal with discrimination in the tourism industry not only because of their gender but because of differences in education and skills. The condition is aggravated by the belief that women are only accessories or a lure in the industry, she pointed out.

"These (attitudes) hamper women's efforts to gain access and obtain benefits from the tourism industry," she told the 15th Convention of the Federation of Asian Women's Associations.

For instance, there's a widespread belief that it's not appropriate for women to work in the tourism sector, she said.

"Many families are reluctant to let their daughters or wives work in hotels because the job is considered degrading," she said. "There's this image that women's work in tourism is nothing but prostitution, or that it exposes them to the risks of sexual harassment."

A 1995 study conducted by the center showed that although women are considered to have strong potential for success in travel bureaus, restaurants and other tourism sectors, their number is only a third of the number of men working in the industry.

Rae Sita Supit, vice president of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agency, criticized the public prejudice. "Those people who hold such a negative view of women's roles in tourism should examine how the sector can boost economic growth and ease the unemployment problem," she said.

Another speaker, Wiendu Nuryanti from Gadjah Mada University's Center for Tourism Research and Development, suggested that the prejudice against women could be countered by controlling advertisements which exploit women.

"Sexually-offensive images of women in materials such as posters and brochures should be eliminated," she said.

Representatives from nine countries, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Sudan, Taiwan and the United States attended the convention, which was opened by First Lady Tien Soeharto on Friday.

An activist from Taiwan, Ping Lee, agreed that lack of gender equality is still the major problem confronting women.

"Women in most Asian countries still suffer from gender inequality," she said. "Men are given better wages and positions even if they are not better educated or skilled." (31)