Equal opportunities for women employees in the hospitality industry: a comparison between France, Italy, Spain and the UK

Patterns of occupational segregation by gender in the hospitality industry

“…All of this research reveals the glass ceiling that blocks the entry of women into highly paid jobs. However, Burrell et al (1997) presented some contrasting evidence. They showed that women are in a slight majority in management and supervision jobs in the UK, although men predominate in these jobs in France, Italy and Spain.…”

“…Some of the more relevant causes include the following: the low educational level of women (Burrell et al, 1997); deficiencies in the recruitment processes, especially in small establishments (Doherty and Manfredi, 2001;Whyte, 1949;Wood, 1992); the difficulties faced by women in reconciling work and family life, due to rather inflexible contracts (Doherty and Manfredi, 2001;Hicks, 1990;Knutson and Schmidgall, 1999;Ng and Pine, 2003); and work regulations that cause differences in contract opportunities between genders (Doherty and Manfredi, 2001). Burrell et al (1997) pointed out that women are poorly qualified compared to their male counterparts, which hinders their access to occupations of greater responsibility. This study suggests that an increase in educational level will reduce occupational segregation.…”

“…Women are segregated into those areas of employment which require their domestic skills and their "feminine" characteristics, as shown in the works of Adkins (1992), Enloe (1989) and Kinnaird et al (1994). According to Burrell et al (1997), cleaning, and reception in hotels in the UK, France, Spain and Italy are occupational areas where women predominate. The barrier against women working in reception in small hotels is still current, due to the need for security at night or for carrying heavy suitcases, which stereotypically excludes women.…”

A social work study on job satisfaction

“…The results of their survey provided some guidelines on how to enhance the job satisfaction of their employees. Burrell et al (1997) presented equal job opportunities for women employees in the hospitality industry by comparing data different countries of France, Italy, Spain and the UK. Winterhager et al (2006) presented a micro-econometric evaluation of an innovative voucher scheme in Germany.…”

A social work study on job placement and dropout

“…Boschmann (2011) investigated job access, location decision, and the working poor in a qualitative study in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. Burrell et al (1997) presented equal job opportunities for women employees in the hospitality industry by comparing data different countries of France, Italy, Spain and the UK. Winterhager et al (2006) presented a micro-econometric evaluation of an innovative voucher scheme in Germany.…”