Empowerment Approach in Tourism: The Voices of Nicaraguan Women

Following her recent work in Nicaragua, our Director Daniela Moreno Alarcon has produced a Briefing Paper on behalf of the Central America Women’s Network. The paper, Empowerment Approach in Tourism: The Voices of Nicaraguan Women explores, through interviews with four key women, the challenges and opportunities for women presented by rural tourism.

The paper concludes with a number of recommendations for action to be adopted by government, NGOs and the academic community with a view to promoting equal opportunities in the tourism sector:

• Undertake further studies to better understand and promote the position of women in the value chains related to all tourism-related activities;
• Develop a legal framework for the incorporation of a clear gender focus within tourism laws and policies;
• Develop a legal framework for addressing the problem of insecure employment within the tourism sector, which affects both men and women, but in particular women;
• Promote employment opportunities for women in currently male-dominated sectors so as to reduce the sexual division of labour;
• Develop professional and university courses on gender and tourism in universities and professional training institutions;
• Provide relevant skills training for rural women engaged in tourism activities to enhance their business management capacities and understanding of social, economic and environment issues affecting their activities;
• Incorporate an analysis of the gender dimensions of all public policies related to tourism;
• Establish a funding stream for projects aimed at promoting gender equality within tourism;
• Develop a set of clear evaluation criteria for assessing positive gender impacts of tourism projects.