‘Create equal opportunity’

Samina Munshi, Director, N Chirag Travels, says that gender equality is need of the hour and that all travel groups address and pursue this issue on a priority basis.

Janice Alyosius

Women in the travel and tourism business are setting an example of women empowerment all over the world. Whether they are licenced tour guides, pilots or entrepreneurs, women are defying stereotypes and making a mark in the field.

However, it is vital to provide a gender-equitable atmosphere for them to grow as leaders and innovators. “Commitment to gender equality is the need of the hour. I strongly advise that all travel groups address and pursue this issue,” said Samina Munshi, Director, N Chirag Travels.

“Establishing and implementing a thorough equal pay policy, as well as recruiting women into high-level tourism employment, will help the sector create equal opportunity for women in the travel and tourism business. Work-life balance should be encouraged, and childcare obligations should be shared equally by both partners to avoid women from falling out of the workforce,” she recommended. “The majority of our workforce is women, and it is our effort to ensure that the business culture honours, rewards and promotes men and women equally,” Munshi said of the unique perk granted to women working at the company. “Our primary values are unquestionably equality and inclusivity. We also prioritise communication and transparency, as well as other fundamental efforts such as healthcare benefits, secure transportation, paid vacation days and flexible working hours,” she added.

About the policies and actions aimed toward women, Munshi said, “As women take on more and more positions in the tourism profession, focus on gender equality needs to be revived.” In light of the pandemic’s impact on small and medium-sized women entrepreneurs’ businesses, special credit lines for women in tourism should be developed, and governments should emphasise women-owned firms in public procurement, she added.