Real Stories About Real Women: Communicating Role Models for Female Tourism Students

Abstract

This article identifies the lack of role models as an important factor that discourages women from taking on leadership roles in tourism communities, government agencies, companies, and academia. Based on discussions of the current literature on role models and the importance of stories, the article presents case studies of initiatives that use social media to collect and share the stories of female role models. The article then discusses opportunities to replicate such initiatives within the tourism education context to provide female students and educators with opportunities to identify with and be encouraged by the real stories of real female tourism leaders. ABSTRACTThe paper identifies the lack of role models as an important factor that discourages women from taking on leadership roles in tourism communities, government agencies, companies and academia. Based on discussions of the current literature on role models and the importance of stories, it presents case studies of initiatives that use social media to collect and share the stories of female role models. The paper then discusses opportunities to replicate such initiatives within the tourism education context to provide female students and educators with opportunities to identify with and be encouraged by the real stories of real female tourism leaders.

Kadın Girişimciler ve Turizm: Mevcut Durum ve Sorunlar Üzerine Sinop İlinde Bir Araştırma - Women Entrepreneurs and Tourism: An Investıgation on the Current Situation and Problems in Sinop Province

“…Turizm sektöründe kadın girişimcilerin sorunları işe girişte başlamakta, toplumsal yargıların da tetiklemesiyle işletme sahipliği, yöneticiliği ve idaresi gibi alanlarda devam etmektedir (Naser vd., 2009;Nieman, 2008;Nxopo ve Iwu, 2015). Gretzel ve Bowser (2013) kadın girişimciliğinde rol model eksikliğine dikkat çekerek; turizmde kadın girişimciliğine dair pek çok eğitim verilmesine rağmen; potansiyel kadın girişimcilerin önünde yeterli sayıda rol model olmadığı için cesaret edemedikleri ya da başarısız olmalarından korktukları yönündedir. Brynin ve Schupp (2000) ise bu konuyu destekleyen bir çalışma gerçekleştirmiş; ayrıca başarılı, güçlü, bağımsız ve kadınları olumlu yönde etkileyen kadın girişimcilerin turizm sektöründe oldukça sınırlı sayıda var olduğunu dile getirmiştir.…”

“…Sorusu sorulduğunda tamamı uygun bir sektör olduğunu belirtmekle birlikte; algı ve rollerden kaynaklı birtakım sorunların olduğunu da ifade etmişlerdir. Literatür incelendiğinde turizm sektörünün eğitim, statü, yaş, tecrübe gibi pek çok farklı niteliğe sahip kişiye istihdam sağladığı ve kadın girişimciler için de elverişli bir sektör olduğunu düşünen araştırmalar (Lee-Gosselin ve Grise, 1990;Rogerson, 2005;Basargekar, 2007;Nieman vd., 2008;Gretzel ve Bowser, 2013;Zapalska ve Brozik, 2014;Chinomona ve Maziriri, 2015;Nxopo ve Iwu, 2015) …”

Influences and Benefits of Role Models on Social Media

“…In addition, role models may be individuals that you would hope to be like (now or in the future). This includes individuals who may be known to a person but who have not met yet [2]. Frequently, role models include people in authority or positions of respect.…”

“…Indeed, past evidence suggests that contacts on digital platforms play an important role in building social support and social capital [7] as these social media sites enable users to share information, create personal content and collaborate with other users on these sites [8]. Having a role model online may help us gain more informational benefits as they may post useful and relevant information about career paths and options publicly [2].…”

“…The 'virtual presence' of online role models may increase the effort that social network users make to connect with the role model and how they interact as well as present themselves 'in front' of others via their online profiles [2]. This may start by users paying careful attention to how they present themselves, as the role model may be aware of their interactions online [5].…”