Best practices for accommodation companies to improve gender equity

Accommodation companies can roll out 16 interventions to hire and retain more women

Accommodation companies have low gender equity in entry-levels today because of company and ecosystem-level challenges:

Managers perceive F&B (Food and Beverage) roles as inappropriate for women due to heavy lifting, fast-paced work, high-heat in kitchens, and long hours in service roles
Most hotels do not allow women to work in night shifts due to safety concerns
Gendered job posts (e.g., bellboy) reinforce the perception that some roles are inappropriate for women
Hotels provide limited support to women in guest-facing roles with high harassment-risk (e.g., room attendant)

Skilling/ training programs for F&B kitchen roles (e.g., chef) have low gender diversity
Some laws make women uncompetitive in labour market (e.g., mandatory pick-up and drop for night shifts, maternity benefits act)
Some state governments do not permit women to work in F&B roles (e.g., bartender) in alcohol serving hotels

As of 2025, the gender diversity in accommodation industry is 14%. Commercial accommodation has high potential for employing more women in entry-level roles in two areas:

F&B, guest support, and facilities management roles in the organised segment have significantly lower gender diversity, ranging from under 5% to 20%, compared with ~30-60% in housekeeping and front office roles
Unorganised segment accounts for approximately 73% of the commercial accommodation workforce but has <10% gender diversity

Accommodation companies can follow a 3-phased approach to make their operations more gender equitable:

Build the organisation’s capability (1-6 months): Establish the foundation by setting a company-level gender diversity target, creating gender inclusive job ads, and sensitising employees and guests on appropriate behaviour
Prioritise and implement (6-18 months): Ensure sustained focus by incorporating diversity guidelines in operator contracts, adopting inclusive hiring practices (e.g., gender diversity targets in shortlisting), and strengthening safety provisions
Embed and scale (18-36 months): Institutionalise gender diversity by recognising managers with gender-diverse teams, disseminating business benefits, and supporting women employees through transportation and part-time work options

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