Roadmap to Improve Gender Equity for Accommodation Companies

Industry Overview

Accommodation industry includes commercial (e.g., hotels, resorts) and institutional (e.g., company guest houses, student hostels) accommodation. As of 2025, the accommodation industry employs approximately 1.42 million workers^[1], and headcount is expected to grow at 5% CAGR to approximately 1.74 million by 2029.^[2] This growth is driven by rising disposable income and tourism demand, the expansion of room supply in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and government investment in tourism infrastructure.

Why should accommodation companies aim to improve gender equity in entry-level roles?^[3]

Hiring more women in entry-level roles can:

• Improve customer experience (e.g., higher guest satisfaction)
• Improve work quality (e.g., superior housekeeping work)
• Improve work culture (e.g., better work environment in kitchens)

Why do accommodation companies have low gender equity in entry-level roles today?^[4]

Company-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)

Ecosystem-level challenges

• 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

Where is the opportunity to add more women in accommodation industry?^[4]

Commercial accommodation accounts for approximately 83% of the accommodation industry workforce but has only ~14% gender diversity.^[1] Many entry-level roles across front office, guest support, F&B, housekeeping, and facilities management are suitable for non-graduate women. 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^[5] but has <10% gender diversity

How can accommodation companies make entry-level roles more gender-equitable?^[4]

• 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

How can accommodation companies track their progress on gender equity?

The Gender Equity Readiness Scorecard (GERS) is an open-source tool which offers a quick, objective assessment of gender equity within a company. The accommodation GERS tool evaluates progress on gender equity across four dimensions – outcome, awareness and accountability, inclusive hiring and flexibility, and safety and infrastructure. Accommodation companies can use the GERS tool to get a clear, objective baseline of their performance on gender equity in entry-level roles, identify the next set of practices to implement, and track progress over time. Ecosystem players (e.g., governments, funders) can leverage the GERS to nudge companies to prioritise gender equity, benchmark companies on their performance, identify emerging trends and challenges, and prioritise specific incentives/ programs for improving gender equity in the industry.