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The role of gender equality in Iranian female tourism entrepreneurs’ success
Tourism Recreation Research
Abstract
This research explores how gender equality/inequality affects female entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality. We applied a qualitative research design using critical theory, and 12 Iranian female tourism entrepreneurs participated in semi-structured online interviews. The snowball sampling technique was applied to collect data analyzed thematically. The findings of this study highlighted that family responsibility, legal disparities, credit constraints, and the social construction of gender roles and norms are among the hurdles restricting females from engaging in social and economic opportunities. Moreover, the participants mentioned that the lack of social, government, and sponsors' support and the absence of a platform for training and sharing peers' experiences impact their businesses.
... They prefer women's male relatives or collaborators (Ngubeni et al., 2022). They refuse to authorise large loans because they assume women cannot repay them (Ghaderi et al., 2023). Hence, women are forced to invest personal or family assets to finance their enterprises (Hlanyane and Acheampong, 2017;Tryphone and Mkenda, 2023). ...
... Societal frameworks compel women to prioritise their roles as wives and mothers and fulfil their demanding everyday obligations (Morgan and Winkler, 2020). These institutionalisations make women feel guilty for prioritising work over family (Ghaderi et al., 2023). ...
... In this regard, the government may provide financial support for women entrepreneurs, which may include money and other benefits (Butkouskaya et al., 2020). Ghaderi et al. (2023) say networking supports women by revealing challenging entrepreneurial journeys, sharing knowledge, and seeking assistance from male entrepreneurs. More importantly, this network may mentor entrepreneurs from the outset. ...
... This study also plays a vital role in addressing gender inequality. Many women in Iran face systemic obstacles, such as limited access to financing, education, and professional networks, which hinder their entrepreneurial potential [19][20][21]. By studying these challenges, their underlying causes, and the motivational dynamics of Iranian women entrepreneurs, strategies can be devised to bridge this gender gap in the business sector. ...
... Given its distinct cultural, religious, and social norms, Iran presents a unique case study of women's entrepreneurship. Women entrepreneurs in Iran face systemic challenges, including restrictive legal frameworks, limited access to financing, and sociocultural constraints that hinder their ability to start and grow businesses [18,21]. Despite these barriers, women in Iran increasingly turn to entrepreneurship to achieve financial independence and contribute to economic growth. ...
This study explores the motivations and constraints of Iranian women entrepreneurs within a restrictive socioeconomic and cultural landscape. It adopts a qualitative approach and utilizes semi-structured interviews to investigate the complex interplay between financial limitations, gender biases, and regulatory challenges entrepreneurs face. These findings underscore the importance of resilience, adaptability, and creativity for entrepreneurial success. Women entrepreneurs in Iran adopt incremental growth strategies, utilize digital platforms for market access, and cultivate informal networks to manage risks and scale their ventures. They also creatively integrate family responsibilities into their business models, highlighting the cultural shaping of their entrepreneurial activities. The concept of regulatory adaptation was introduced to illustrate how entrepreneurs restructure their operations to comply with stringent government regulations while sustaining growth. The emotional burden of navigating these hurdles is also evident, emphasizing the need for support mechanisms that address mental health and well-being. Policy implications are discussed, and enhancements in financial access, gender equality, digital entrepreneurship, and mental health support for women entrepreneurs are recommended. This study contributes to the entrepreneurship theory by understanding how sociocultural contexts influence women's entrepreneurial activities and resilience strategies.
... A focus on gender, particularly in underexplored sectors such as tourism, would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how EE might need to be tailored to different demographic groups to effectively foster EP and EI across both tourism and nontourism businesses. Entrepreneurship among females has gathered significant attention across both tourism and nontourism-related sectors (Ghaderi et al., 2023;Rudhumbu et al., 2020). The global economy now recognizes the need for equal economic participation, prioritizing support for female entrepreneurs who historically faced discrimination. ...
... Women's entrepreneurial identity is shaped by their societal position and the constant tension between domestic and professional spheres Martini et al., 2020). Barriers such as limited managerial experience, insufficient government support, structural discrimination, and difficulty accessing financing continue to hinder their progress (Ditta-Apichai et al., 2024;Ghaderi et al., 2023). Gender roles and cultural biases further limit women's ability to start and manage businesses, often relegating them to caregiving and domestic duties. ...
Women’s entrepreneurship in the tourism industry plays a vital role in promoting economic growth, advancing gender equality, and encouraging innovation. Female entrepreneurs contribute to the diversification of tourism services, job generation, and the revitalization of local economies. This study employs data from the Web of Science database to examine research on tourism and female entrepreneurship over the past two decades. The primary goals are to explore emerging trends, publishing patterns, and the geographical regions most active in this area of research, as well as to identify the key journals, authors, and keywords shaping the field. The bibliometric analysis uncovers the progression of academic studies and highlights regions with significant research activity. While female entrepreneurship is a driving force for economic development and gender equity in tourism, persistent obstacles, such as limited research in certain areas and barriers to women’s participation, remain. This work underscores the increasing significance of women’s contributions to tourism and offers a framework for future studies and policies aimed at fostering gender equality and sustainable economic development.
... Dentro de los trabajos desde la geografía de género se encuentran Díaz-Carrión (2018) aportan a este estudio. Ghaderi et al. (2023) examinan la experiencia empresarial de mujeres en el sector turístico en Irán con respecto a la igualdad de género. Descubrieron que diversos obstáculos, como las responsabilidades familiares, las disparidades legales, las limitaciones en el acceso al crédito, así como las construcciones sociales de roles y normas de género, junto con la falta de respaldo social, gubernamental, de patrocinadores y de una plataforma para capacitación y el intercambio de experiencias entre pares, afectan negativamente sus emprendimientos. ...
The relevance of the study lies in the importance of addressing gender issues comprehensively in adventure tourism, from acknowledging individual barriers to the need for cultural and structural transformations, recognizing the complexity of the problem, and the necessity for personalized and culturally sensitive solutions to advance towards greater gender equity. The labor situation of adventure tourism companies in communities in the southern state of Quintana Roo is analyzed through a gender perspective by conducting in-depth interviews with female and male workers, based on categories such as atypical hiring, wage discrimination, devaluation and invisibility, sticky floor, glass ceiling, and sexual harassment. Findings show that gender stereotypes exist in adventure tourism, highlighting a positive perception towards female leadership positions, albeit with stereotypes that limit the diversity of roles they can perform.
The tourism sector is subject to constant change in response to global events, socio-economic changes, and individual preferences. However, women traveling alone encounter numerous barriers that impede their engagement in tourism and leisure activities. These barriers are influenced by structural, socio-cultural, economic, and psychological factors, as well as gender inequalities. This chapter examines the factors that limit women's leisure travel, focusing specifically on the constraints faced by women working in the tourism sector. Reducing these barriers will not only contribute to gender equality but will also support sustainable tourism practices by increasing women's well-being. The chapter puts forward a series of recommendations for policymakers, tourism professionals, and the business community to make independent travel safer and more accessible for women. In conclusion, the chapter emphasizes the critical importance of promoting social and structural changes to increase women's travel opportunities as a means to achieve gender equality.
Amaç –Ekonomik kalkınma, refah, istihdam kavramları ile yakından ilişkili bir kavram olarak girişimcilik zaman içerisinde değişimler yaşamakla birlikte ülkelerin gelişiminde önemli dinamiklerden biridir. Girişimcilik dünyasında bugün artık sadece erkek değil kadın girişimciler de sahada varlık göstermektedir. Kadının geleneksel rollerinin dışına çıkarak iş yaşamında var olması kadın girişimciliğinin ayrı olarak ele alınmasına neden olmuştur. Bu noktada hükümetlerin de kadın girişimciliğini destekleyen mekanizmalar geliştirdiği görülmektedir. Farklı baskın yeteneklere sahip olan kadın ve erkeklerin girişimcilik faaliyetlerinde de farklılıkları ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu da alanda çeşitliliğe neden olurken nihayetinde ülke ekonomisini kalkındıran bir çıktıya dönüşmektedir. Bu araştırmada temel amaç kadın girişimcilerin toplumsal boyutta nasıl bir rol üstlenip dönüşüm sağladıkları ve bu süreç sonrası girişimcilik faaliyetleri içerisinde yer alan kadınların nasıl kazanımlar elde ettiklerini anlamaya ve açıklamaya çalışmaktır. Yöntem –Nitel olarak tasarlanan araştırmada TRT’de yayınlanan “Köyde ve kentte yaşayan kadınların karşılaştıkları coğrafi, ekonomik, toplumsal zorlukları; hayalleri, azimleri, enerjileri ve en önemlisi devletimizin desteği ile bir bir aşarak başarıya ulaşmaları”nıesas alan “Hayallerinin Peşinde” programında 20 kadın ile yapılan röportajlar, içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur.Bulgular –Araştırma sonuçlarına göre kadın girişimcilerin toplumsal dönüşümde diğer kadınlara destek veren, yol gösteren aynı zamanda rol-model oldukları bulgularına ulaşılmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında girişimciliğin kazanımları incelendiğinde öne çıkan bulgular; gelir elde edebilme, özgüven, sosyalleşme, başardım duygusu, iletişim kurabilme, huzur/içsel tatmin, özgürlük olarak ortaya çıkmıştır.Tartışma –Araştırma sonucu ortaya çıkan bulgular eşliğinde kadın girişimcilerin toplumsal bir dönüştürücü etkisi olduğu, erkek girişimcilerden farklı olarak diğer kadınlar için kazanımlar sunduğu ifade edilebilir. Bu dönüştürücü etkideki dönemsel sosyal-ekonomik etkileri de doğru okumak kadın girişimciliğinin ve olası etkilerinin artırılabilmesi adına oldukça önemli olacaktır
La relevancia del estudio radica en abordar cuestiones de género de manera integral en el turismo de aventura, desde la complejidad del problema, su conciencia de las barreras individuales hasta la necesidad de transformaciones culturales y estructurales que perpetúan estereotipos de género y la necesidad de soluciones personalizadas y culturalmente sensibles para avanzar hacia una mayor equidad de género. Se analiza con perspectiva de género la situación laboral de empresas de turismo de aventura de comunidades del sur del estado de Quintana Roo a través de la aplicación de entrevistas a profundidad a trabajadoras y trabajadores, con base en las categorías de contratación atípica, discriminación salarial, desvalorización e invisibilidad, suelo pegajoso, techo de cristal y acoso sexual. Los hallazgos muestran que existen estereotipos de género en el turismo de aventura, destacando una percepción positiva hacia los puestos de liderazgo femeninos, aunque con estereotipos que limitan la diversidad de roles que pueden desempeñar. Se observa una discriminación oculta en el ámbito laboral. La contratación atípica y las condiciones laborales irregulares está contribuyendo a la precarización laboral en el sector del turismo de aventura. Respecto a la desvalorización e invisibilidad, la persistencia de roles tradicionales y percepciones arraigadas en algunas comunidades puede llevar a que guías de turistas femeninas enfrenten discriminación o desigualdad de género.
Given the significance of entrepreneurial women’s contribution to the tourism industry and the fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal (gender equality) this study aims to investigate: first, the interrelationship between women entrepreneurship, creating shared value, and women’s empowerment; and second, the effect of gender-based discriminations on women’s entrepreneurship, creation shared value, and women’s empowerment in the tourism context. Data were collected from 167 Iranian women operating various tourism-related enterprises and analysed using structural equation modelling in WarpPLS software. The results highlight the positive direct and indirect effects of female entrepreneurship on women’s empowerment and the importance of the mediating role of creating shared value between these two constructs. The results also confirmed the negative impacts of gender-based discrimination in entrepreneurship and creating shared value for female tourism entrepreneurs in Iran. The practical implications of the study, limitations, and potential directions for future research are discussed.
The present study intends to contribute to the debate on whether and how the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) theory explains business performance by exploring its efficacy when applied to a constrained context such as a developing country. This debate revolves around the understanding of the nature of EO within a specific context and the degree to which EO, as compared to environmental characteristics, contributes to business performance. In particular, it analyses the influence of EO on the business performance of women entrepreneurs engaged in the handicraft business in Bangladesh, focussing on the effect the business and social environments exert on this relation. The results obtained from hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggest that the EO construct requires flexibility in its conceptualisation and that the implications EO has on performance need to be understood in the light of the context in which the theory is adopted. Concerning the nature of EO, we find that, first, a combination of EO dimensions (rather than them individually taken as per the original theory) explains business performance in a constrained context. In particular, women who show characteristics of innovativeness and pro-activeness (as one construct) seem to report high performances, as well as those showing behaviours more prone to taking risks. However, while barriers posed by the social environment (e.g., socio-cultural norms and customs) tend to impact performance negatively, barriers in the business environment positively relate to business performance. This suggests that further research is needed to investigate how the local constrained context mediates EO’s impact on performance. Our findings contribute to the research efforts directed to understanding the dimensionality of the EO construct when applied to a constrained context and pave the way to the quest for what role the external factors (namely, the social and business environment) play in explaining performance in such a context.
While studies and reviews on gender, women and travel constraints have been conducted, the specific travel constraints pertaining to Muslim women travellers need further analysis and investigation. This review adds to the existing body of knowledge not only by presenting an overview of the existing literature on Muslim women travellers’ constraints, but also by critically assessing it with the intent to highlight areas for future focus. Overall, this critical review’s contributions are threefold. First, by focusing on a relatively unknown segment of the market (Asian Muslim women), it adds a specific perspective to the existing body of knowledge on constraints to leisure and travel in general, and women’s constraints to leisure and travel in particular. Second, as the specific constraints are discussed in relation to the different stages of the tourism experience – from the travel decision making process to the post-holiday experience – this chapter highlights the constraints faced by Muslim women not only when they are on holiday but also when they return home. This is particularly important as tourism scholars often overlook women’s psychological and practical barriers in the post-holiday experience. Third, this work offers scholars a more in-depth understanding of the diversity of femininities constituting the group ‘Muslim women’ as it presents different typologies of Muslim women and the different socio-cultural, micro and macro contexts shaping their travel perceptions and constraints. By doing so, it attempts to overcome binary concepts related to gender (e.g. Muslim-non Muslim women) by offering a more nuanced perspective on gendered and religious identities.
Tourism has received considerable attention in recent years with regards to the impacts of tourism and its ability to contribute toward sustainability. This article focuses on the positive impact community-based tourism can have on the empowerment of women. Four domains of empowerment have been identified in literature, and the objective of this research specifically reviews the social and economic empowerment domains, which community-based tourism has had on the lives of women involved in tourism. Primary data in the form of life histories were collected through semi-structured interviews by the researchers, and data analyzed according to an empowerment framework. The results yielded a number of women considered to be empowered on both economic and social levels. However, despite the considered empowerment of women, aspects of disempowerment were noted. The study fundamentally reveals that Sustainable Development Goal 5, pertaining to women empowerment, can be achieved through the economic empowerment of women who in turn socially empower the communities in which they reside.
This paper revolves around women tourism entrepreneurs in the Pacific island nation of Samoa where an ancient way of living (fa’a Samoa) co-exists with colonial heritage and a growing tourism industry. By adopting a perspective sensitive to socio-cultural specificities, we examine the ways that the socio-cultural context both enables and impedes the empowerment of women managing tourism accommodations. In this venture, we draw on an ethnographic field study in the rural island of Savai’i, including semistructured interviews as well as informal conversations with locals, observations and the participation in everyday practices. We pinpoint and discuss the main sources of power and power-relations that women entrepreneurs need to command in order to run their businesses. Finally, we conclude that no (wo)man is an island, as we are all part of, and depend on, intrinsic social structures for our welfare.
The aim of the current paper was to compare the regional differences in innovation and the resulting growth expectation among female entrepreneurs in the MENA region as compared with the rest of the world. Data on innovation and growth aspirations of 162,752 female entrepreneurs in 109 countries was extracted from GEM annual surveys in 2002-2016. A hierarchical linear modelling technique was used to analyse the data. Interestingly, results indicated that female entrepreneurs in the MENA region are more innovative than their peers in the rest of the world; however, there is no difference between the MENA female entrepreneurs and their counterparts in the rest of the world in terms of growth ambitions and benefiting from innovation for growth. Innovation was found to be positively related to shaping growth ambitions in female entrepreneurs.
Keywords: female entrepreneurs; MENA region; innovation; growth expectation
Unlike the mainstream research conducted on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on both large-scale tourism and hospitality firms, and also at the destination level, the current study focused on home-based accommodations in Iran which have experienced rapid development throughout the country. In-depth interviews with a number (n = 45) of such accommodation operators revealed that due to their perceived high vulnerability to the pandemic and self-protection, they adopted “untact hospitality”, thereby decreasing their direct interaction with guests. Looking through the lens of Protection Motivation Theory, four main themes were explored: motivations to work in the hospitality industry; local accommodation operators' perception of threat; coping appraisal; and protection behavior intention. The results revealed that many local ventures were unable to survive, leading to the bankruptcy of such units throughout the country. With few exceptions, the public sector's responses to the pandemic, and the hospitality sector's measures, were generally unsuccessful in managing the health crisis. The current study contributes to the risk, crisis preparation and crisis management of hospitality organizations at the local level in the context of their health protection motivation behavior.
Globally, there is significant growth in women exploring entrepreneurship to disrupt poverty, notwithstanding they face more serious challenges when compared to male counterparts. For women entrepreneurs in Nepal, not only are they marginalised in their tourism business endeavours, they are also highly regulated by caste and class, and patriarchal inequality. Using a critical theoretical framework within a qualitative grounded theory approach, we revealed ways in which Nepali women subvert the institutionalised gender and power structures. The critical perspective engages with socially constructed layers of historical, political, cultural, economic and gender values that have been embedded over time. Sixteen Nepali women entrepreneurs in tourism were interviewed between 2014 and 2019. Patriarchal embeddedness in social, business and tourism environments are overcome by Nepali women through micro enterprise development. Women are engaging in female domains such as homestay, but also infiltrating male domains such as trekking and tour-guiding. Nepali women’s political strategies are subtle and understated. The capacity of Nepali women to encroach on patriarchy through tourism shows that women have adapted to redress socially constructed imbalances. Tourism provided opportunities to find their agency in a world that has been largely silenced. Women’s skills and roles are now infiltrating ingrained patriarchy.