Hospitality is in principle an ideal profession for the ‘fairer sex’ and in most regions of the world, women are fully integrated into the hotel workforce. OK, there may not yet be true gender equality in all respects just yet, but that has not stopped women from rising to the top in both hotels and hotel chains.
There are hundreds of expatriate women who have reached supervisor and department head level throughout the Gulf, a notable handful of high-flying female GMs in the UAE, and of course a few who have made it to the very top of the tree internationally, such as Fairmont president, Jennifer Fox.
All this should be a cause for celebration, not least because of what it reflects about the march of civilisation itself. But when it comes to localisation of the workforce in the GCC, the sexual equality movement is at a much earlier stage of development.
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Of course, part of the problem is that traditional Muslim families are often vehemently opposed to their daughters working in hotels. Many Islamic sheikhs consider such work to be ‘haram’ (sinful), because hotels are places where men and women who are not married can mix too easily, unlike in the stricter traditional Muslim societies, such as that of Saudi Arabia. Don’t even mention such activities as drinking, dancing, etc., all of which frequently happen in hotels in the more liberal Gulf countries, and all of which are naturally frowned upon by religious leaders. I remember one Saudi GM who told me how the uncle of a Saudi female employee of his had dragged her out of the hotel by her hair, swearing she would never work there again, which she did not.
But there is much light at the end of the tunnel. During my interview on page 124 of this magazine with Dr Ibrahim Alsini, Dean of the Tourism Institute at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, he mentioned that the Saudi government has designated certain industries as appropriate for female employees.
Nursing, teaching, etc. (by women to women) were thus nominated years ago, but more recently, ladies have been officially permitted to work in call centres and even as supermarket cashiers — serving both men and women.
“It used to be forbidden to see a lady serving you anywhere,” said Alsini. “Now they are cashiers in supermarkets, this is really amazing. I now also see ladies working in cafes and resorts, serving guests. This is not approved officially by the government, but the industry is doing it and the government keeps quiet,” he adds, with the inference that it is being ‘unofficially’ allowed.
According to Alsini, local women also work in hotel sales and marketing departments, while “in one of the Eastern Province hotels, the housekeepers are ladies.”
He says that there has been a general shift in the mentality of Saudis regarding work in hotels, which used until recently to be a stigmatised profession for both men and women.
“I mean, you know there are cultural restrictions on Saudis [and their] work in service, etc. But this has completely changed, really. Over the last three years I have seen a dramatic change in the beliefs of families and young Saudis; they don’t mind at all working in hospitality. Before it was [considered] a shame, really a shame to work in hospitality.” He refers to the “glamour of work in five-star hotels” as one of the factors that has helped to change attitudes towards hotels.
At the Tourism Institute, a new event management course starts this autumn, the school’s first course open to women. Alsini explains that women in fact own many of the event management companies operating in Saudi Arabia and that the course is intended to help them gain a theoretical basis for their businesses.
He feels it is inevitable that women will eventually be invited to join the Institute’s hotel management course too, but not yet. “We don’t want to say that now, because three years ago, the previous Dean, when he talked about females in hospitality, it back-fired badly and really the (University) President was very unhappy from that speech, because the families or the society (were) not ready yet to accept that ladies are working in hotels.” Ah well, no truly worthwhile change ever happens overnight.
Guy Wilkinson is a director of Viability, a hospitality and property consulting firm in Dubai. For more information, email guy@viability.ae.
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