Resumen de Gender inequalities in tourism employment: the Portuguese case

Carlos Costa, Inês Carvalho, Zélia Breda

• Tourism is a very important sector for the Portuguese economy and it is responsible for the creation of many workplaces. But what is the nature of the employment generated by this industry? More specifically, which gender inequalities emerge? This article is about gender inequalities in tourism employment in Portugal. Disparities are analysed using data on employment from Statistics Portugal (INE). Data for men and women are compared, as well as data for the tourism sector and the economy as a whole.

  The data suggest that the tourism sector is vertically segregated and, despite being a feminised sector, men occupy most top-level positions. Moreover, tourism workers, particularly female workers, are in general subject to poorer conditions of employment, such as low-pay, long working hours and more precarious contracts. The data hint at a very wide gender pay gap in the tourism industry.