In the lead up to COP28, we put forward the case that climate change and its impacts on women working in tourism need to be at the forefront of industry and policy discussions.
Now, we’re calling for more research to underpin these talks and inspire action. We must expand our understanding of the connections between climate change, gender and tourism to create transformative, real-world change within the industry and beyond.
Climate, Gender & Tourism: A Gap in the Literature
Recent literature has interrogated the links between tourism and climate change and its resulting impacts on policy.
Studies include Becken et al.’s (2020) piece on the policy integration of tourism and climate change; Scott et al’s (2022) review of research into tourism and climate change, and Peeters et al.’s (2024) stocktake review Current issues in tourism: Mitigating climate change in sustainable tourism research.
However, a gender dimension is missing from these reviews. It’s an alarming omission given the evidence that women are more adversely impacted by climate change and other global crises.
In the context of tourism and hospitality, where women tend to hold the lowest ranking or most vulnerable positions, this can be especially serious.
Applying a Gender Lens to Tourism and the Climate Crisis
While climate change is not creating more problems solely for women, when we apply a gender lens, we are seeking to understand how it exacerbates preexisting conditions and inequalities that plague women today.
In this way, climate change is a challenge to the status quo and encourages us to scrutinise the global tourism system in its current permutations. In tackling the impacts of climate change, we can also seek solutions for emancipatory change and progressive societal improvements.
Research matters at this critical point. Women’s voices in policy and decision making need to be amplified and given space. Bottom-up, grassroots approaches need to be considered as crucial alongside top-down macro approaches. And indigenous knowledge must be viewed as critical to inform climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies moving forwards.
As well as compounding existing structural problems that women face, there’s a second aspect of climate change and gender to consider. Women have agency and can play an active role in addressing the effects of climate change.
The Need for a Gender-Based Research Agenda
A progressive gender-based research agenda at the intersection of sustainable tourism and climate change research will help address the current gap in the industry’s understanding, through the following four steps.
1. Understanding the Bigger Picture
The global tourism system is hugely varied with a diverse labour market – from hotel managers and restaurateurs to souvenir shop owners and tour operators. It’s a diverse system, which differs across the Global South and the Global North and encompasses both formal and informal economies, direct and indirect labourers.
All of this needs to be captured. A macro-contextual understanding of the variations could be a useful starting point to assess the scale of the problem and the potential for climate action.
2. Capturing Gender Specific Information
Within this bigger picture, research also needs to ascertain gender disaggregated information that captures the current state of the system and key vulnerabilities.
How are the struggles of women in the Global South working in the informal tourism economy different to those of women in the Global North in the formal economy? How will climate change impact them both? Where are we likely to see the most vulnerability and how does gender play into this?
3. Identifying the Most Gender-Transformative Areas
The next step for researchers is to identify the most gender-transformative aspects of climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Gender-transformative action addresses the causes of gender-based inequalities. It seeks to transform these harmful norms and power relations by triggering changes in agency and social structures. It is a key pillar of the work that Equality in Tourism supports.
Research needs to determine which aspects of climate action will be most impactful and where women will be able to play an important role.
In doing so, we can identify where and how support and finance can be best channelled to help women working in the tourism industry, in areas affected by climate change.
4. Developing Gender-Equality Indicators to Measure Progress
Lastly, research is needed to develop gender sensitive indicators and measures of sustainable development in the field of climate change and tourism. How can we track progress made in the industry to measure against international standards and climate change targets?
If we have indicators to measure progress we can better see where and how support needs to be funnelled to help women championing climate change action in their work.
Case Study: Climate Impacts on Women’s Informal Work in Tourism
All around the world, there are stories illustrating the urgency of our call for a gender-based climate and tourism research agenda.
Take Kilifi, on the north coast of Kenya. The beach stalls here are an important converging point for informal tourism work predominantly done by women. Masseuses, pareo sellers, souvenir item traders, among others, operate from these makeshift structures.
By positioning their stalls within walking distance of upscale beachfront hotels, these women can strategically observe and attract tourists who frequent the ocean for leisure. The proximity enables tourists to purchase local goods, get their hair styled, be adorned with henna art, learn Swahili or engage with the local culture.
Here, women have sustained their families through tourism’s informal trade at the beach front. Over the years, some have handed down their trade skills to their children and grandchildren.
Encroaching Ocean Waters
The rising sea level resulting from climate change poses a significant threat to these women and their micro businesses. As ocean waters encroach upon the shoreline, their fragile makeshift stalls are increasingly at risk of being displaced.
Every inch of rising sea levels or high tide flooding pushes these women further from their prime trading locations. This limits their access to tourists, jeopardising their economic stability.
The severity of this threat is glaring to the women who witness coastal protection structures, such as seawalls barricading hotels, being repeatedly rebuilt after each bout of damage from rising sea levels.
An Uncertain Future
Today, mother-daughter teams at beachfront businesses reflect the growing involvement of women in informal tourism work. Nonetheless, the threat of displacement looms large, as rising water levels continually puts at risk their operational base.
Older women, who have long relied on this trade, now consider passing the responsibility to younger generations amid increasing competition and climate change risks.
Real-World Impacts
A progressive gender-based research agenda at the intersection of climate change and tourism will have real-life implications for policy moving forwards.
It would enable greater participation from women in gender-transformative tourism enterprises, reducing poverty and enhancing community-decision making.
It would also allow for greater and more accurately targeted NGO, private sector and government support to help women realise their full potential in the tourism industry. Through training and credit for female entrepreneurial activities, for example.
With a burgeoning literature on this critical intersection and ongoing industry discussions, we believe there is opportunity for women working in the tourism industry to contribute towards positive climate action.
This autumn we’ll be hosting a symposium on tourism, climate and gender – details coming soon! Sign up to our mailing list via the form below to hear about the event and be part of this important conversation.
