Westminster sets out to tackle disproportionate impact of climate change on women in tourism at roundtable event

On 27 November, colleagues from across the tourism industry gathered at the University of Westminster’s Fyvie Hall to explore how the climate crisis disproportionately impacts women working in tourism and discuss what actions can be made to make a positive difference. The event focused on developing a gender-based research agenda to address how climate change worsens gender inequalities and to emphasise the need to amplify women’s voices in shaping climate policy.

The event was led by Dr Stroma Cole, Reader in International Tourism Development at Westminster and Co-Director of Equality in Tourism. She opened the evening with an introduction to the charity, its research and its goals to encourage sharing, learning and collaborating for a just transition. Dr Cole explained that a just transition is a set of principles, processes and practices aimed at shifting from a system that depletes resources to one that restores them, ensuring the approach is inclusive and considers gender equality. This introduction was followed by a virtual presentation from Lucy Atieno, a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, who spoke about her case study exploring how gender perspectives shape tourism and climate change in coastal Kenyan communities reliant on tourism. This study outlined the negative impact of climate change and rising sea levels on the Kenyan beachfront businesses which are predominantly ran by women and mother-daughter teams.

The room then opened into a roundtable discussion focusing on three key questions regarding the impact of climate change on women in tourism. These included discussions on how women’s wisdom is being missed in climate change policymaking and what changes can be made to address this. The session also explored how attendees can support women-led tourism initiatives to enhance their resilience to climate change within their own roles.

After feeding back key points from each table to the room, attendees enjoyed an informal networking session to further discuss and develop collaboration across the industry.  

About the event Dr Stroma Cole said: “Thank you to all the participants who attended this great sharing event! Individually making change can feel difficult. Together with shared interest, we developed new relationships, new knowledge, courage and commitments to help the change that is needed for a just transition.”

The roundtable event contributed to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including 5: Gender Equality, 13: Climate Action and 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

Find out more about studying Tourism at the University of Westminster.