Thesis Title:

Womens experience of
empowerment in the tourism
sector: The Maldives
Presented by: Aishath Rafiyya
U3080338

Supervisory Panel:
Chair: Dr Angela Benson
Secondary: Dr Tracey Dickson

Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

1. Introduction
The Maldives reached five out of the eight Millennium Development
Goals (MDG) (UNDP Maldives, 2014). Despite this, poverty still
exists with increase in urban poverty. Disparities in other
dimensions such as gender inequity and income disparity between
the Capital City Male and island communities are seen. Maldives
has failed to achieve third MDG: to promote gender equality and
empower women, which indicates challenges in gender equality in
the country. Unemployment is approximately 31% among women,
compared to 8% for men (UNDP Maldives, 2014).

Tourism is the major income generating source of the Maldives that

contributes to 35.7% of the countrys GDP. Tourism created 18,257
jobs during 2011 and is the largest employment sector of the
workforce (MOT, Tourism Year Book, 2013). Thus, tourism can be an
avenue to fill the gap in the unemployment rate of women to that
of men, and also it can be a tool to empower women in Maldives.
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

2. Literature Review
2.1 Concept of Empowerment
Empowerment is a process through which the society such as
individuals, organisations and the community themselves gain
mastery over their lives by enhancing their capacity (Conyers, 1975;
Sen, 1985; Arai 1996; Malhotra et al. 2002; Narayan, 2002;
Rappaport, 1984 cited in Sofield, 2003)
The word empowerment first came to the academic literature in
relation with civil rights, addressed during 1975 in an article called
Toward Black Political Empowerment Can the System Be
Transformed (Conyers, 1975) which was then followed by a number
articles to empower the black society.
As the agreement of millennium development policies, and ever
since the literature started discussing the poor and vulnerable
societies, including women and people marginalized by poverty,
empowerment is given considerable importance globally.
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

self-sufficiency
agency

liberation
Contribution

EMPOWERMENT

Confidence

freedom

Power over
relationship of authority
and subordination.

Power within
POWER

Power to
enable to progress the skills and access
the necessary resources to decisionmaking and achieve ones goals

Reference (Narayan, 2005)

Involvement

enable to clear goals

and ways to change.

Power with
enable to observe & establish shared
interests and to attain them together by
their relations, influence.
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

Present study selects three basic understandings of

empowerment;
1. Empowerment shall be a continuous social
process (Conyers, 1975; Arai 1996; Malhotra et al. 2002; Narayan, 2002)
2. It is multi-dimensional as it empowers a person
holistically including economic, psychological, social
and political aspects (Arai, 1996; Scheyvens, 2002; Alsop, Bertelsen and
Holland, 2006)

3. It occurs at three levels namely individual, group

and community level in relation to one another (Arai,
1996; Scheyvens, 2002; Malhotra, 2002; Sofield, 2003; Alsop, Bertelsen and Holland,

and realisation of empowerment

depends on the society and traditions (Malhotra and Mather,
2006; Samman and Santos, 2009)

1997; Mason, 2005; Narayan, 2005; Ibrahim and Alkire, 2007)

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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

2.2 Women empowerment & Tourism

The literature linking women empowerment with tourism is
limited (Chugh, 2012).
Literature shows women are prominent in development of rural
tourism with their small scale enterprise providing a valuable
alternative for them to continue to play their traditional gender
role of domestic work at home and serve tourists (Garcia-Ramon,
Canoves and Valdovinos, 1995)

Women consists 80% tourism jobs, but only 10% in leadership

positions (GRWT, 2010)
Tourism has brought economic development which has the
potential to empower the local women, thus can be a vehicle to
reach MDG3 (GRWT, 2010; Ferguson, 2010)
Tourism jobs opened many opportunities like exposure and
trainings, and it has the potential to empower women by
increasing womens confidence level thereby becoming
independent (Chant, 1997; Scheyvens, 2002)
Economic gain of tourism jobs, incresed bargaining power of
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women in the household and society

Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

Women empowerment & Tourism cont 2.2

Ateljevic & Peeters (2009): tourism is a process of social

innovation and added to the positives of tourism sector by
identifying six main forms of women empowerment through
tourism.
They are;
i) Employment opportunity
ii) Community development initiation
iii) Poverty alleviation
iv) Access to education, information and training,
v) Business development and
vi) Social entrepreneurship
Thus, the study of Ateljevic & Peeters (2009) is important in
linking
women
empowerment
and
tourism
with
entrepreneurship lens.
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

2.3 Tourism & women empowerment in Maldives

Tourism is the major income generating source, contributes to 35.7%
of the countrys GDP.
Tourism created a large number of employment opportunities both
informal and formal,
largest employment sector of the workforce (MOT, 2011).
Despite, opportunity for work, the tourism industry consists only 7%
of women in salaried jobs and is lowest in the tourism sector (MOT,
2011).
There is lack of statistical data related to employment in the tourism
industry of Maldives (Shakeela, Ruhanen, and Breakey, 2011)

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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

..Tourism & women empowerment in Maldives.. cont 2.3

Shakeela et al. (2011) : Tourism in the Muslim World describes the

womens involvement in the Maldivian tourism industry from a
religious perspective. Reveals number of factors which limits
Maldivian women choosing a career in the tourism industry these
include: cultural, religious and family obligation (nonexistence of
childcare facilities and weak transportation systems to travel resorts
limited academic studies : women in tourism sector/ Maldives.
Natural and cultural differences among different countries,
generalisation is impossible.
An extensive study is required to address the shortcomings in linking
the key concept together i.e. women, empowerment, and tourism
sector. As such, this study intends to further work carried out by
both Ateljevic and Peeters (2009), and Shakeela et al. (2011) and
provide research specific to women empowerment in the tourism
sector of Maldives.
Thus, this study will be unique in the context and intends fill the gap
in the existing literature.
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

3. Research Questions, aims & objectives

To evaluate Maldivian Womens experiences of empowerment in the
tourism sector,
Research Questions
1. How Maldivian women who have experience in the tourism sector
define, and conceptualize empowerment?
2. How does tourism employment affect the dimensions of womens
empowerment (i.e. psychological, economic, social and political)?
3. How does tourism employment affect the levels of womens
empowerment (i.e. individual level, household level and community level)?
Aims & Objectives
To review the literature to underpin what is known on womens
empowerment specifically within the tourism context.
To critically analyse how woman with tourism experience in Maldives
define and conceptualize empowerment.
To examine how tourism employment affect the dimensions of
womens empowerment (i.e. psychological, economic, social and political).
To examine the effect of tourism experience in different levels of
womens empowerment (i.e. individual level, household level and
community level).
Finally,To conclude how womens experience in Tourism can be
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a tool of empowerment in Maldivian context.

Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

4. Research Methodology
The paradigm: social constructionism.
Things are acknowledged or understood by societies or groups of
people instead of a single person and knowledge is created by social
processes and relationships within the community providing a
framework for meaning regarding certain phenomena and modelling
perceptions of desirable actions (Cottone, 2007, Daly 2007).
Ontology what the nature of knowledge or reality?
Epistemology - how world is acknowledged, relationship
between the researcher and things to be studied?
Methodology - how knowledge about the world is obtained?
Methods:
Case study Maldives as a case
Semi-structured interview
Sampling: Convenience Sampling; Snow ball
Women who worked for 5 years in tourism
Analysis: Initial Coding, focused coding, theoretical coding / NVIVO
Ethical considerations
Pilot study: 3 interviews to check the questions
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

5. Limitations
- participants will be recruited by resorts, there may be a
possibility of management influence.
- Time can be limited - this will be minimised by using telephone
interviews in case site visits are not possible due to bad weather
or other condition.

6. Resources Required
This study: will require the following resources
- Library services and support
- Computing facilities (Ms Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
- Printing facilities
- Photocopying facilities
- Recording facilities
- Stationery
- Photographic equipment
- Travel expenses on the return journey to different islands of
the Maldives that will be sponsored by the Sun Foundation
(Maldives).
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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

7. Workflow Time table

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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

7. References

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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

7. References

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Womens experience of empowerment in the tourism sector: The Maldives

8. Acknowledgement

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Thank you