UN Tourism and ITF call for action on women in tourism transport

A new report from UN Tourism and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) shows that women remain severely underrepresented across tourism transport, particularly in technical, driving and leadership roles.

First-of-its-kind evidence base
- Provides sex-disaggregated global data on women working across air, land, and water passenger transport.
- Identifies legal, cultural, and structural barriers limiting women’s access to decent work, career progression, and leadership roles.

Key Findings
- Aviation: Women make up 36% of workers, but only 6% of pilots. Men dominate technical, flight deck, and leadership positions.
- Land transport: Accounts for 96% of all tourism transport jobs, yet only 3% are women.
- Water transport: Just 12% of workers are women, with significant gaps in managerial and technical roles.
- Workplace safety: One in five countries still lacks legal protections against harassment at work.

Action Plan
- UN Tourism and ITF signed a three-year work plan to implement the report’s recommendations.
- Focus areas:
- Strengthen gender-responsive policies.
- Improve working conditions.
- Expand training and leadership opportunities.
- Enhance measurement and reporting.

Leadership voices
- Shaikha Al Nuwais (UN Tourism Secretary-General): “Tourism is meant to connect people and open doors. Yet in every part of tourism transport, too many doors remain closed to women.”
- Stephen Cotton (ITF General Secretary): “Launching this report is not the end of the story, it is the beginning… Our focus now is turning evidence into action.”

Impact
This report is a turning point: it moves the conversation from intentions to evidence-based action, aiming to ensure women not only participate in tourism transport but also lead and shape its future.