UN Tourism and ITF Push Global Reform as Report Exposes Deep Gender Divide in Tourism Transport

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UN Tourism and the International Transport Workers’ Federation have jointly published a new Global Report on Women in Tourism Transport, shedding light on persistent and structural gender inequality across the world’s air, land, and water-based passenger transport systems. The study provides the first comprehensive global benchmark using sex-disaggregated workforce data, revealing how deeply uneven participation remains in a sector central to global mobility and tourism.

The report shows that women’s participation in tourism transport varies widely by mode but consistently declines as roles become more technical or leadership-oriented. While women are present in significant numbers in some segments of aviation, land and maritime transport continue to reflect extreme gender imbalance, particularly in operational roles that require technical skills, licensing, or supervisory responsibility.

In aviation, women represent around 36% of the workforce in countries where reliable data is available. However, this participation is largely concentrated in customer service, administrative, and support functions. When it comes to core operational roles, the gap becomes stark: only about 6% of pilots globally are women. Engineering departments, flight operations, and senior management positions also remain overwhelmingly male-dominated, pointing to a persistent “glass ceiling” within the industry.

The situation in land-based passenger transport is even more uneven. Despite accounting for roughly 96% of total employment in tourism transport, this segment employs women at a rate of only about 3%. Bus driving, long-distance passenger services, fleet operations, and maintenance roles continue to be almost entirely male-controlled in most regions. The report links this imbalance to restricted access to licensing systems, limited training pipelines, and workplace environments that are not always designed to support gender diversity.

Water-based passenger transport presents a slightly broader level of inclusion, but disparities remain significant. Women make up around 12% of workers in maritime tourism transport, yet their presence is still largely confined to lower-responsibility positions. Technical shipboard roles, navigation, engineering, and senior operational leadership continue to be dominated by men across ferries, cruise lines, and inland water services.

Beyond numerical representation, the report highlights deeper systemic challenges that continue to limit women’s participation and progression. Safety concerns emerge as a major issue, with many women facing risks related to harassment, inadequate reporting systems, and insufficient protective mechanisms in both public-facing and operational roles. These challenges are especially pronounced in long-distance travel operations, where workers often operate in isolated or high-mobility environments.

Infrastructure limitations also play a major role. Many transport systems were not originally designed with gender diversity in mind, resulting in a lack of adequate sanitation facilities, rest areas, and safe working environments for women. These gaps contribute to lower retention rates and discourage long-term careers in operational transport roles.

Legal protection remains another critical weakness. The report notes that roughly one in five countries still lacks sufficient legal safeguards against workplace harassment, leaving many women without clear avenues for protection or justice. This absence of regulatory support reinforces unequal workplace dynamics and reduces accountability across parts of the sector.

Cultural expectations and occupational stereotypes further reinforce these structural barriers. In many regions, transport work—especially driving, technical maintenance, and operational management—is still widely viewed as a male profession. This perception limits recruitment, discourages participation in training programmes, and reduces visibility of women in senior roles, which in turn perpetuates the imbalance.

A key concern raised in the report is the lack of consistent and reliable gender-disaggregated workforce data. Many countries and transport systems do not systematically collect or publish detailed employment statistics by gender, particularly in informal or subcontracted roles. This data gap makes it difficult to measure progress accurately or design targeted interventions to address inequality.

In response to these findings, UN Tourism and International Transport Workers’ Federation have introduced a three-year global implementation programme aimed at advancing an Action Plan for Women in Tourism Transport. The initiative brings together governments, employers, labour organisations, and industry stakeholders to coordinate efforts across policy, workplace standards, and training systems.

The programme focuses on building gender-responsive policy frameworks, improving workplace safety conditions, and expanding access to technical education and vocational training for women. It also seeks to strengthen pathways into operational and leadership roles, ensuring that women are not confined to entry-level or support functions.

Another key element of the initiative is leadership development. The action plan aims to increase the representation of women in supervisory, managerial, and executive positions through structured career development programmes and institutional reforms that reduce barriers to promotion.

Data improvement is also central to the roadmap. Enhanced collection of sex-disaggregated employment statistics is seen as essential for tracking progress, identifying gaps, and supporting evidence-based policymaking at both national and international levels.

Overall, the report positions gender inequality in tourism transport not only as a labour market issue but also as a structural challenge affecting the resilience and efficiency of the global tourism system. By aligning policy, industry practice, and data systems, the initiative seeks to create a more balanced and inclusive workforce in a sector that underpins global connectivity and travel.