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Everyday sexism is alive and well in the travel industry a startling new survey has revealed, as almost 40% of women admit to having felt uncomfortable at a work event, fam trip, conference or in the work place – simply because of their gender.
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The survey, conducted by TTG ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, captured almost 500 respondents, with only those who identify as women included. Those who took the survey represented a broad cross-section of the industry, with 255 travel agents, 132 women from tour operators, PR companies and other suppliers, while 73 identified as “other”.
The survey also covered a range of seniority levels. While frontline, sales and operational roles dominated, around a quarter of respondents were manager level, and nearly 17% said they were head of department, director or board/owner level. Thirty-seven respondents said they were apprentices or assistants, and 53% of respondents have worked in travel for more than 10 years.
The big plus is that despite its flaws, women enjoy working in travel. A whopping 82% said they would recommend a career in travel to other women, while 79% insisted they feel valued at work. And yet, in spite of this, many respondents reported bias, exclusion and stalled progression.
A shocking number of women have experienced being overlooked in the work place. Some 56% of all respondents said they had experienced “being talked over”; 58% had been “underestimated”; while 34% admitted they believed they’d been excluded from decision making. Perhaps most concerning, 47% said they had been subjected to “inappropriate comments” in the workplace.
Disappointingly, only 34% of women strongly agreed that they “feel valued in the workplace”, and just 20% strongly agreed they could see a clear path to leadership.
This may perhaps explain why just 11% of respondents said they were “definitely paid fairly compared with male colleagues in similar roles”, while 38% said they were “probably” or “definitely not”.
Many respondents suggested there remains a glaring disconnect between a female-heavy workforce and male-dominated leadership at the top. There were comments about “mediocre men” being promoted into senior roles they were “not equipped for”, while equally or better‑qualified women felt they had to prove themselves “1,000 times more” for the same opportunities. Another pointed out: “The industry is still full of older men 45+ that have big egos and can be inappropriate and patronising towards women."
Some said female presence in the board room can feel like a “tick box exercise”, with the real decisions still being made by men. "Women at board level are sometimes there for PR, while the actual decisions still don’t involve women – women are trying to survive in a ‘men’s world," said one respondent.
Another added: “It’s always a fight for equal pay… I earn 20% less than my male counterparts, while expectations on me are significantly higher”, while one respondent pointed out: “The large number of poorly performing men in senior roles is strong evidence of the level of bias.”
Of the 37% who said they’d taken maternity or adoption leave, just 26% were given enhanced maternity/adoption pay, while the majority had to make do with statutory pay. Financial strain was a major theme in the responses of those who had children, with some even saying they subsequently fell into debt.
A whopping 60% said they felt their career had “stalled” as a result of taking maternity leave or having children, reporting delayed or missed promotions, pay rises being stopped when their pregnancy was announced, or being made redundant during or soon after leave.
Meanwhile it seems flexible, part‑time or remote options at a senior level are often unavailable, leaving some women with little choice but to leave roles, change companies or go freelance/self‑employed to achieve the flexibility needed for their new family life. Almost half of the respondents (48%) who had had children said they did not believe travel is a family-friendly industry to work in.
Comments:
“Having returned from my second maternity leave I had to step down from my management role to exec level in order to get a four‑day working week. That wouldn’t be granted at manager level.”
“Maternity delays your progression and the need to support family when you return means you can’t always be available out of hours when male colleagues are.”
“I feel like I would have progressed further if I hadn’t had children… I took roles closer to home for half the salary because there was no flexibility.”
“In your early 20s you think ‘the travel industry isn’t sexist’. Then you take time off to have a baby and come back working part‑time. Ten years later all your male colleagues are in leadership roles while you and the other working mums haven’t progressed.”
One of the most concerning set of responses in the survey related to safety.
Shockingly, 38% of women said they had felt uncomfortable while at a work event, on a fam trip or conference or simply in the work place as a result of their gender, while 20% said they had actually felt unsafe while on a work trip.
Comments largely centred on concerns around arriving late at night, walking alone (to hotels, stations, car parks), poor hotel security, or being the only woman in male‑dominated spaces, sometimes with alcohol involved.
And it’s clear the burden of safety planning as ever, falls heavily on women. Many describe having to constantly risk‑assess, choosing hotels with 24‑hour receptions and internal corridors, checking how far the car park is in the dark, asking for rooms near lifts and not on ground floors, and avoiding certain venues or late‑night activities.
Meanwhile 22% of women said they had experienced inappropriate behaviour from colleagues; 16% from clients and 21% from suppliers. Asked who they believed was responsible for providing a better duty of care in this instance, respondents were split – 35% said the event organiser, 54% their own employer and 58% the perpetrator’s company. Some 40% said they would have felt more safe if alcohol hadn’t been supplied at the event.
Formal support is improving but uneven. While a good majority (78%) feel supported by their employer when travelling, a sizeable minority (22%) do not, and respondents’ subsequent comments suggest safety often depends more on individual managers and ad‑hoc “looking out for each other” than on robust, standardised policies.
Of course, despite these risks, women still travel – they just adapt. Many continue to take trips because they are core to their roles, but they change their behaviour, leaving events early, avoiding walking alone at night, paying personally for safer options, or teaming up with trusted colleagues to feel more secure.
Comments:
“I was on a road trip with a male colleague who had been with the company for decades and was ‘old school’ sales. He tried to put his hand on my knee at dinner and I swiped it away and left. Still had to drive with him.”
“I was once on a hosted fam trip in a remote region… A powerful man, who proceeded to make inappropriate comments throughout dinner to a group of female agents, then insisted he escorted me to my room despite my polite and repeated declining. Once outside my room, I all but had to run to shut the door behind me.”
“I had a client appearing half dressed at my hotel room door late in the evening. Similar things have happened rather recently to my younger employees – journalists turning up late and drunk at my employee’s door during a trip abroad.”
“I have been inappropriately touched and/or spoken to at every job I have ever had from both colleagues and customers… Comments on my appearance, sexual advances, aggressive speech and body language in my personal space, bullied, told not to be ‘so emotional’.”
“At a very well-known annual travel conference… I had a male ground facilities employee enter my hotel room unannounced via my balcony doors while I was in the shower. I ran out the main door before he could get to me… It’s just crazy that on a business trip at a 5* resort I can’t stay in a hotel room alone without worrying about safety.”
“Being referred to as ‘darling’ / ‘lovely’ / ‘little lady’ despite being the lead of the trip”
“So many events in our industry are full of alcohol and an expectation to drink and dress to impress. I’ve had countless experiences of unwanted and unacceptable attention when men have had too much to drink. Especially senior figures.”
“Our hotel policy is 3‑star, and a lot of 3‑star hotels don’t seem to consider female safety. I was put in a room on the ground floor and the front door of the hotel had no security. I’ve been put in hotels where I’m not close enough to transport, or I don’t have the facilities I need.”
“There was a female colleague in my first job in travel who was raped by an older male from the same company on a work trip. This was quite a wake‑up call for the rest of us.”
One of the more unspoken sides of being a woman are health issues such as periods and menopause, as well as other female-related health matters.
While periods effect every woman differently, it’s notable that some 31% of women said periods had previously stopped them from fulfilling their job responsibilities with respondents describing having to “push through” severe cramps, fatigue, heavy blood flow and migraines.
The comments indicate strong evidence of a stigma still, as well as a lack of understanding amidst a fear of not wanting to be seen as “weak”, “unable to cope”, and a reluctance to have the conversation with male bosses.
Menopause is also impactful. Around 16% say menopause has stopped them fulfilling responsibilities, with symptoms such as pain, PMS‑like mood changes, hot flushes and exhaustion forcing them to slow down, take time out or miss events.
Meanwhile, 20% of respondents said other female-health related issues had prevented them from fulfilling their job responsibilities.
Comments:
“When you go into perimenopause things change a lot. Periods can become extremely heavy and it’s pretty hard to deal with at work. Sometimes you stand up and it feels like a flood… I’m lucky to work from home on those days, but not everyone has such an understanding boss or feels comfortable talking about these things.”
“I have had monthly cramps that can occasionally cause vomiting and migraines from pain. Without an HR, it’s awkward to explain to my male boss.”
“3‑day menstrual migraines with vomiting for 3 years – making it impossible to work.”
“Endometriosis means there are days I can’t even get out of bed because I’m in such pain.”
“Sometimes extreme cramping affects day‑to‑day life and affects focusing and being able to work to the best of our abilities.”
“When your body is in pain and you’re also experiencing brain fog due to period symptoms, it is very difficult to work as I normally do. I cannot take these days off as sick leave – especially as it’s monthly – because there is stigma and I’ll be perceived as ‘weak’. So I take heavy medications and try to do my best.”
“No access to products if you forgot to bring them.”
“I wish there was more support for women surrounding their periods in workplaces.”
“Menopause has certainly made aspects of work a lot harder.”
“Endometriosis and adenomyosis have caused me to miss days in the office over the last 3.5 years. I’ve also had meetings and felt scrutinised over my sickness.”
Most respondents do not feel there has been a dramatic shift either way; many say it’s “somewhat easier” or “about the same”, with only a minority choosing “much easier” (12%) or “much harder” (10%).
Women repeatedly note the presence of more female leaders in the industry, greater discussion of menopause, maternity and flexible working, and an improved awareness that overt sexism and “banter” are unacceptable.
At the same time, many feel that underlying power structures and pay gaps have barely moved: the C‑suite is still heavily male they say, women still earn less, and biased attitudes are often described as “hidden” rather than gone.
A recurring theme is that progress depends heavily on the employer and line manager – some workplaces are genuinely supportive and flexible, others are described as being stuck in “old boys’ club”.
Comments:
“Nothing has really changed as men are still dominating the business and the world.”
“We have been fortunate to have formidable women in our industry – women who did not wait for permission… They disrupted what needed disrupting and carved a path many now walk with far less resistance. And yet, those role models feel fewer now.”
“Behaviour that was seen as acceptable (such as sexist banter and overt sexism) is no longer common but discrimination is still very much there, just more hidden.”
“It is easy to enter and grow to a certain level, but then the men ‘take over’.”
“Poor behaviour from mainly men has always been accepted in the travel industry. Until there are consequences in place and policies made, it will stay the same.”
Asked “what’s been your most positive experience as a woman in travel?” the strongest themes centred on solidarity and support from other women – networks, friendships, mentoring and women‑led teams come up again and again.
Many also highlight female leadership, revealing that working for or with women in senior roles has been transformative, both practically and emotionally.
Travel itself also remains a huge draw: women talk about seeing the world, expanding horizons, and building confidence and careers they’re proud of.
Women might say they would recommend travel as a career, but many feel they’ve had to trade off pay, progression or family life to stay in it.
Yes, there’s been progress – more flexibility, more senior women visible, more open conversations about health – but there remains the entrenched pay gap, motherhood penalties and general concerns around safety.
A number of respondents explicitly say they would be further ahead without children or without needing flexibility, and some are considering leaving the industry because they can’t find senior roles that offer the support they need.
Comments:
“Fewer career opportunities. Look at how few women in BDM/senior positions have children.”
“I’ve had to make choices where I stepped down and took a large decrease in salary. As a single parent, the respect and flexibility I have now mean more to me than the money or title.”
“Women are empowered and are driving the travel industry forward. We are not pathetic souls who feel the need for preferential conditions because of natural occurrences like a monthly period or menopause. We are strong, resilient and capable.”
“Other women in my era (+55 years) we were conditioned to have to prove ourselves, there was a lack of empathy or support from my female peer group and senior management in some organisations.”
“Salary. No matter how hard I work, I'm always 20% or more below my male peers. The gap just never reduces. It's beyond insulting.”
"At one particular employer, where men would routinely be promoted to leadership positions simply because they were known to the bosses. I raised this and was sent a manual (from the overseas HQ) where the advice on how to get ahead as a woman was basically to find a male mentor and ask them for their guidance. Shocking!"
Women didn’t hold back when asked what needs to happen to improve gender equality in travel. There were calls for more women in leadership positions to break the “boys club” dynamic. There were also demands for the pay gap to be addressed and appeals for those who “talk down” to their female colleagues to be “called out”.
There was also a demand for more flexible hours to enable mums (who respondents said, typically fulfil the greater burden of childcare) to work around their family as well as increased calls for working from home policies to enable school/nursery pick ups.
Likewise, many respondents called for better maternity leave policies, and more understanding around IVF and the need for IVF appointments. Respondents also said greater understanding of the impacts of menopause and women’s health overall is also needed.
Respondents had a variety of answers, but the general sense was summed up by two answers, one which urged women to “be unapologetically you” and another who said simply: “know your self-worth.”
In a nutshell, respondents urged women to…
Lastly, we asked respondents what three words they would associate with being a woman in the travel industry? This was their response...
Being a woman in travel in 2026 is framed as a mixture of pride and frustration. Women say they feel powerful, visible and impactful, but also overworked, sometimes unsafe, and not always given equal voice or reward.
A constant theme is the feeling of being underestimated or under-valued but alongside this is a strong sense of resilience and determination, and a feeling of solidarity.
