Sexual Harassment in Hospitality: Examining the Experiences of a Female Housekeeper
Author: Grace Blake
1 Commentries
Abstract: The sexual harassment of female workers in the hospitality industry is a problem that faces housekeepers regularly. This paper looks at the issue’s housekeepers face on a regular basis in a predominantly female role, as well as the findings from primary research with a female former housekeeper discussing her vulnerability and experiences with sexual harassment.
Key words: Sexual Harassment, Women, Housekeepers, Vulnerability, Hospitality.
The tourism industry employs more women than any other sector, and with that comes the unfortunate instances of sexual harassment. Tourism and hospitality consequently suffer the highest levels of sexual harassment incidents then any other sector (Ram et al., 2016). Ram et al (2016) state that 4% of employees within the hotel sector are sexually harassed each year, however many cases may not be reported and therefore it is more likely to be greater than this. It is a common theme within literature that this is due to the inherent characteristics of service organisations and the closeness between customers and workers (Gilbert et al., 1998) because of the ‘home away from home’ feel a lot of organisations wish to offer.
The majority of housekeepers employed are female as the job role has been constructed as being ‘for women’ (Guerrier and Adib., 2000) due to the nature of the role, as it is argued gender roles are mirrored at work due to living in a patriarchal society. Furthermore, housekeeping is stated to be women’s work to the extent that it requires domestic skills for which women are inherently skilled. It is argued that the hospitality sector is characterised by vulnerable, unorganised female workers, with an income security which leaves them dependant on managers (Ram et al., 2016). It is further maintained that the ‘low-skill’ of housekeepers also makes them vulnerable and more susceptible to sexual harassment. Ram et al (2016) enforce that women and young people are vulnerable groups of workers which are more likely to face issues such as sexual harassment.
For the purpose of this work, 1 semi-structured interview was conducted with a female former housekeeper, discussing her opinions and experiences of sexual harassment within the hospitality industry. The participant’s past experiences were insightful, with the focus being based around the research objective of “exploring the sexual harassment of female housekeepers”. Further themes emerged from the research, which were the unfairness housekeepers endure, as well as the gendered role of the housekeeper.
One of the key findings highlighted within the research gives reasoning behind the housekeeper role being predominantly female, which concludes as being due to the patriarchal views within society. However, findings show that although the job is based around cleaning and this is seen as a ‘woman’s job’, a lot of the work is physically demanding and therefore in the eyes of society this should consequently make the role equally relevant for men to occupy. This contradicts ideologies and views such as the belief that gender roles are mirrored at work (Guerrier and Adib, 2000) as the strenuous activities of a housekeeper would consequently be more suited to be a ‘male role’.
As previously stated, it is not uncommon for female housekeepers to be vulnerable to sexual harassment whilst at work. The participant expressed how she had been verbally sexually harassed by customers whilst at work on more than one occasion, during only five months of employment. The participant explained how she had overheard sexual comments made about her and even had a customer make derogatory and degrading comments to her. Although she stated how the customer was not intentionally making her feel uncomfortable, it highlights the findings from previous literature, stating that female housekeepers are often subject to unwanted sexual harassment (Guerrier and Adib, 2000).
Overall, it can been seen throughout literature the extent housekeepers are vulnerable to sexual harassment, which has been echoed with key findings from research. In order for an organisation within the hospitality industry succeed, their workforce should be well motivated (Gilbert et al., 1998) and therefore greater importance needs to be put on safeguarding employees and consequently limiting their vulnerability. Findings conclude that housekeepers are susceptible to sexual harassment due to the gendered role, and customers do not understand it as sexual harassment. Further research may explore customer’s views towards housekeepers and why they might believe sexual harassment occurs.
Gilbert, D. Guerrier, Y and Guy, J. (1998) Sexual harassment issues in the hospitality industry, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 10(2), pp. 48-53.
Guerrier, Y., and Adib, A. (2000) ‘No, we Don’t Provide That Service’: The Harassment of Hotel Employees by Customers, Work, Employment and Society. 14 (14) 689-705. Available from https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/8F396703474586734B7A8B691CC91EAF/S0950017000000428a.pdf/no_we_dont_provide_that_service_the_harassment_of_hotel_employees_by_customers.pdf [accessed 3 May 2020].
Ram, Y., Tribe, J., and Biran, A. (2016) Sexual harassment: overlooked and under-researched, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 28 (10) 2110-2131. Available from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2015-0240/full/pdf [accessed 23 March 2020].
Key words: Sexual Harassment, Women, Housekeepers, Vulnerability, Hospitality.
The tourism industry employs more women than any other sector, and with that comes the unfortunate instances of sexual harassment. Tourism and hospitality consequently suffer the highest levels of sexual harassment incidents then any other sector (Ram et al., 2016). Ram et al (2016) state that 4% of employees within the hotel sector are sexually harassed each year, however many cases may not be reported and therefore it is more likely to be greater than this. It is a common theme within literature that this is due to the inherent characteristics of service organisations and the closeness between customers and workers (Gilbert et al., 1998) because of the ‘home away from home’ feel a lot of organisations wish to offer.
The majority of housekeepers employed are female as the job role has been constructed as being ‘for women’ (Guerrier and Adib., 2000) due to the nature of the role, as it is argued gender roles are mirrored at work due to living in a patriarchal society. Furthermore, housekeeping is stated to be women’s work to the extent that it requires domestic skills for which women are inherently skilled. It is argued that the hospitality sector is characterised by vulnerable, unorganised female workers, with an income security which leaves them dependant on managers (Ram et al., 2016). It is further maintained that the ‘low-skill’ of housekeepers also makes them vulnerable and more susceptible to sexual harassment. Ram et al (2016) enforce that women and young people are vulnerable groups of workers which are more likely to face issues such as sexual harassment.
For the purpose of this work, 1 semi-structured interview was conducted with a female former housekeeper, discussing her opinions and experiences of sexual harassment within the hospitality industry. The participant’s past experiences were insightful, with the focus being based around the research objective of “exploring the sexual harassment of female housekeepers”. Further themes emerged from the research, which were the unfairness housekeepers endure, as well as the gendered role of the housekeeper.
One of the key findings highlighted within the research gives reasoning behind the housekeeper role being predominantly female, which concludes as being due to the patriarchal views within society. However, findings show that although the job is based around cleaning and this is seen as a ‘woman’s job’, a lot of the work is physically demanding and therefore in the eyes of society this should consequently make the role equally relevant for men to occupy. This contradicts ideologies and views such as the belief that gender roles are mirrored at work (Guerrier and Adib, 2000) as the strenuous activities of a housekeeper would consequently be more suited to be a ‘male role’.
As previously stated, it is not uncommon for female housekeepers to be vulnerable to sexual harassment whilst at work. The participant expressed how she had been verbally sexually harassed by customers whilst at work on more than one occasion, during only five months of employment. The participant explained how she had overheard sexual comments made about her and even had a customer make derogatory and degrading comments to her. Although she stated how the customer was not intentionally making her feel uncomfortable, it highlights the findings from previous literature, stating that female housekeepers are often subject to unwanted sexual harassment (Guerrier and Adib, 2000).
Overall, it can been seen throughout literature the extent housekeepers are vulnerable to sexual harassment, which has been echoed with key findings from research. In order for an organisation within the hospitality industry succeed, their workforce should be well motivated (Gilbert et al., 1998) and therefore greater importance needs to be put on safeguarding employees and consequently limiting their vulnerability. Findings conclude that housekeepers are susceptible to sexual harassment due to the gendered role, and customers do not understand it as sexual harassment. Further research may explore customer’s views towards housekeepers and why they might believe sexual harassment occurs.
Gilbert, D. Guerrier, Y and Guy, J. (1998) Sexual harassment issues in the hospitality industry, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 10(2), pp. 48-53.
Guerrier, Y., and Adib, A. (2000) ‘No, we Don’t Provide That Service’: The Harassment of Hotel Employees by Customers, Work, Employment and Society. 14 (14) 689-705. Available from https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/8F396703474586734B7A8B691CC91EAF/S0950017000000428a.pdf/no_we_dont_provide_that_service_the_harassment_of_hotel_employees_by_customers.pdf [accessed 3 May 2020].
Ram, Y., Tribe, J., and Biran, A. (2016) Sexual harassment: overlooked and under-researched, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 28 (10) 2110-2131. Available from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2015-0240/full/pdf [accessed 23 March 2020].