Women in the tourist area: cases in Latin America

Abstract

Latin America is a region that has historically been classified under the stereotypes of the phenomenon called "machismo", which the Royal Spanish Academy defines as: Attitude of arrogance of men with respect to women. This is a descriptive study, which compares cases of Latin American women from different countries (Mexico, Colombia and Brazil), who work in the field of tourism; fulfilling different functions and offering different services according to their context. This research is carried out using the interview technique, which has as its instrument a script of structured open questions. This methodology allowed to compare through the analysis of the discourse, the diverse situations that some women live in their role as microentrepreneurs or subordinates in the area of tourism, responding to the following categories from their different perspectives and profiles: job opportunities, obstacles they face, professional projection for the future and challenges that live in a macho context. Coming to the conclusion that it is necessary to change the way of perceiving women in different work spaces, starting from the education that is given to girls and boys in Latin America, in their homes and continuing with the example that adults can give treating everyone equally, without questioning the talent or capacity of a person just for being a man or woman, creating fair and respectful environments for all.