4 minute read
Women Who Empower
Gloricel Escribano Leal, Guest Columnist
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You are strong and brave. Everything you propose you will achieve.
Did you know that we are the gender with the largest population worldwide? But, apparently, we have been installed a "social chip" so that we think that we are less in number, less in education, less in strength, and less in everything.
Five years ago I began to study and work in the economic sector of Tourism. Where no one saw me with a fixed future, they told me that I had gone crazy to change my profession. Me, I wasn't really changing my profession; better yet, I was integrating my financial skills with technology, event coordination, languages, and understanding people's behavior when choosing destinations. I repeated to myself, <<Tourism is defined as an economic sector made up of several industries, I am aligned>>.
I have to say, being able to get out of the box is tough. I cannot express otherwise. Entrepreneurship costs money, emotional effort, and physical effort and requires incredible determination. It is important to unlearn and learn again. All the skills that I have been able to develop in recent years have helped me to undertake alone, identify the true strategies to provide a service different from the existing ones, to really help the communities that need it, and create collaboration agreements with new entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.
Among the projects that I am working on is the offering of new tourist routes in the municipality of San Lorenzo in Puerto Rico, mentoring for the development of new tourist services, and the offer of coordinating tourist events where 80% or more than activities with local businessmen, purely Puerto Rican. I seek to give that little push to whoever needs it to undertake their projects. This last point is more to the female gender that wants to venture into the world of Tourism. Many of them are fearful of discrimination, harassment, and, in general, the lack of equality that we experience on a daily basis. They ask me if I feel good working as a Tour Guide. The truth is, so far while practicing the profession I have not had any situation of direct harassment for being a woman, but I do have colleagues to whom it has happened. What does always come up as a topic of debate is the price that I assign to my tours. In these cases, I do feel a bit of pressure from society telling me that since I am a woman I should assign lower prices than my male colleagues.
Just as it is stipulated in the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations 2030 Agenda, it is of great importance that all of us begin to reevaluate to change our thinking as to what and how a woman should develop in the different work industries. . Jobs in Tourism must provide women with job security, promote the formal economy (salary and benefits), promote equality and non-discrimination, protect maternity decisions, stop harassment, promote inclusion of women in decision-making and equal pay between women and men.
Highlighting the salary, in 2019, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported in its second edition of the World Report on Women in Tourism, that women earn 14.7% less than men in the tourism sector. According to the UNWTO, we are represented in the tourism sector with 54% of the people employed. We are the majority! Although the panorama was a bit complicated by the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, where many women became unemployed. Now in the year, 2022 Tourism began to resurface and with it hiring again.
In general terms, it is necessary to provide women with decent work, if we really want as a society to increase the work and presence of women in tourism. In addition, we must have accessible education and training available from an early age. Make known all the alternatives to develop ourselves in the professions we want, including self-management, sales, leadership, finance, and business management skills. As well, as adults, begin to modify our thinking before society and instruct that women can also take charge of large projects where we are the person who sells the service, and meets with suppliers to negotiate, among other actions.
I take this opportunity to highlight that currently, 23% of the Ministries of Tourism are directed by women. Definitely, we can become great in Tourism, all of us who want it!
With all this, he wants to tell you again that to undertake incredible determination is needed. What if I had only listened to the voices that told me that I was crazy about moving to the tourist sector? My company would not have been born. She was not working as a Certified Tourist Guide and Coordinator of Tourist Events. I was not supporting other local entrepreneurs. Do I have a way to go? Yes, a lot. I only have 5 years. Have I met to set goals? Yes, a lot. I have my company. I have my tourist services for sale. People are trusting me and what I do.
I do not want to close, without first sharing with you some of the words that are my inspiration for the difficult days of entrepreneurship, "Tourism can empower women, in particular by providing direct jobs and generating income for SMEs in related companies with tourism and hospitality. Tourism can be a tool for women to fully participate and lead in all aspects of society. " World Tourism Organization, SDG5.
A hug, Gloricel Loyal Scribe Chairwoman Tourism Borincano LLC
Facebook: @turismoborincano Instagram: @turismoborincano Twitter: @tourborincano webpage: https://www.turismoborincano.com WhatsApp: 787-921-6960
