There is an increasing rate of women travelers and entrepreneurs globally, generally associated with the movement of 'women empowerment'. The tourism industry has increased the opportunity for businesses, while women are playing a full role in overtaking these opportunities. The chapter highlights modern women and the role that the tourism industry has played to empower them through the inter-role factors, the impact of digitization, and issues to women in the tourism industry as an entrepreneur. Sustainable tourism development in popular destinations increasingly depends on women's empowerment. On the other hand, empowering women and achieving gender equality is one of the goals of the United Nations' sustainable development agenda (UN-SDGs). Entrepreneurship is a key factor in advancing women's equality.
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A major global movement emphasizing the advancement of women and the protection of their rights has emerged in recent years and is making strides toward its goals. Women empowerment is itself a fundamental human right that's necessary to make the world a better place. The term “women's empowerment” refers to efforts to increase women's confidence in their abilities, freedom to make their own decisions, and access to political and social power. Women empowerment is the process by which women both individually and collectively develop into knowledgeable and purposeful actors who either lead or back efforts to eliminate gender inequality (Cole, 2018). Women's empowerment can be broken down into four distinct areas: psychological, political, social, and economic (Abou-Shouk, Mannaa, & Elbaz, 2021).
One of the modern world's most important industries, tourism has grown into a huge worldwide economic force in recent decades. Edgell (2016) urges for “empowerment” to be included as a benefit to local communities from tourism development as part of a sustainable strategy. Women can gain economic independence through entrepreneurship. Improvements in women's and families' economic standings as well as the general prosperity of their communities can be traced directly to women's increased involvement in business (Scott, Dolan, Johnstone-Louis, Sugden, & Wu, 2012; Haugh & Talwar, 2016).
The United Nations' sustainable development agenda is to promote gender equality (UN-SDGs). Hence, the ability to start a business is a crucial part of women's empowerment. The extent to which women can participate in society is heavily influenced by cultural norms. Women's empowerment in the tourist industry can be predicted in large part by how people view women's roles in the industry and the success of women entrepreneurs (Abou-Shouk, Mannaa, & Elbaz, 2021).
While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world. (UNWTO, 2023)
Traveling might boost women’s creativity and provide them with a sense of freedom which is strategically translated into businesses by many women today. The tourism industry can support women by enhancing their experiences to explore new cultures, trends, and ideas and providing them opportunities to empower themselves. Traveling might boost their creativity and provide them with a sense of freedom which is strategically translated into businesses by many women today. Yet, women have limited time to travel (Women’s Entrepreneurship: Issues and Policies, 2004).
Figure 1. Employment characteristics in tourism
The tourism industry has also increased the opportunity for businesses, while women are playing a full role in overtaking these opportunities which can be assessed by Figure 1 which shows the involvement of women in different parts of the tourism industry. The percentage in the figure represents the share of employed women. Hence, the chapter focuses on the importance of women entrepreneurship, the issues women entrepreneurs face and the factors and opportunities such as digitization that lead to empowering women in the tourism sector.