Kartini Day is interpreted by everyone in different ways. However, in essence it is a celebration to women so they can continuously shine, be confident and never give up in realizing their dreams and aspirations. “The meaning of Kartini Day has inspired many women to continuously fight against injustice and discrimination, including women in the world of tourism,” said the Head of the Branch Manager of the Federation of Tourism and Creative Economy Unions (FSP Parekraf), All Indonesian Workers’ Union (SPSI) of Badung Chapter, Ayu Budiasih, on Monday (Apr 10).

The meaning of the struggle of RA Kartini is meant to get equality in terms of education, opportunities for women to work as well as encourage women’s self-confidence in their careers, so as to be able to raise women’s quality of life. “In principle, women must have the courage to accept ‘responsibility,’ as the research by Gerald Kushel, a management consultant, concluding that almost all high-performing managers accept responsibility, and conversely, managers who perform poorly have a tendency to pass the blame on to others,” said this woman from Tabanan.

This becomes one of the examples to dare to accept responsibility posing one of the mental gates to success. “Women in the tourism industry have to work twice as hard to fight the negative stigma befalling them. Women now rarely use company facilities whereas female workers usually go home after 23:00 Local Time, which should be provided with shuttle transportation,” suggested the woman having worked in tourism for decades.

Aside from their role in advancing the company, women must also not forget their role in the domestic sphere as housewife who also have a very large role in educating and raising their children. Due to such great role of women, they must be able to manage their time well, so that their job can run well and smoothly and can be accounted for. “On that account, I say women work twice as hard,” she affirmed.

The tourism industry sells services. So, the Human Resources needed are those who are able to make guests interested in coming, and enjoying the facilities provided by the tourist destination area. “This is where women’s ability to show off hospitality, apart from being physically, women have a more attractive charm than men,” said Ayu Budiasih proudly.

According to her, there has been already gender equality in the world of tourism. Gender is a term used to describe social differences between men and women. Gender is the result of social and cultural construction, so that in the world of work, especially in tourism, gender equality already exists. Just a small example, the cooks in big hotels are mostly men, when compared to women. “This means that in the tourism industry there is no discrimination and does respect their respective function and duty,” she explained.

Many women have also occupied the position as General Managers (GM) in the tourism industry. This shows that gender equality in the tourism industry is no longer a problem. Women and men already respect each other and value their respective role. For example, Ida Ayu Rai Candrawati Lestari fills in the position of GM at Sadara Resort, Fransiska Handoko as GM at Risata Bali, Lucia Liu as GM at Laguna Resort, and Ayu Manik as GM at J4. “In Bali, there are still many women who also occupy the position as GMs,” she concluded. (BTN/015)