INTERNATIONAL REPORT—This International Women’s Day (March 8) a global survey of business travelers reveals that seven in ten (71 percent) women business travelers say traveling for work as a woman is less safe than traveling as a man.
The Opinium survey of 2,000 business travelers in Australia, Canada, United States and United Kingdom, commissioned by World Travel Protection, a leading global travel risk management organization, finds that women travelers are more likely to take measures to protect their safety during business travel than men. Almost one in three (31 percent) say they do not travel or go out on their own at night, compared to 18 percent men, and almost half (46 percent) always stay in close touch with family and friends so their whereabouts are known, compared to 36 percent of men.
Almost one in five (19 percent) women business travelers also feel their organization should act with women’s safety in mind when they are traveling alone, for example ensuring that flights do not arrive late at night.
Gauging the Importance of Women’s Rights
Global women’s equality issues are also of greater concern to women than men with over one in three (36 percent) saying they do not like traveling to countries where women’s rights aren’t protected, compared to only 15 percent of men.
Interestingly, in their hotel or accommodation, both men and women take extra steps to protect their security, for instance placing a chair or obstacle against the hotel door to deter a potential intruder (16 percent both men and women) and using room service so they don’t have to eat in a restaurant on their own (17 percent both men and women).
Moreover, one in five women business travelers (21 percent) prefer to stay in hotels that make provision for solo women travelers and a similar proportion (19 percent) wear a wedding ring (real or fake) to avoid unwanted attention.
Over one in ten women business travelers (12 percent) have unfortunately experienced a negative incident, ranging from minor theft to assault when traveling, and one in ten (10 percent) have been unwell with a women’s health problem while traveling but felt unable to get help because of the stigma around women’s health issues.
Kate Fitzpatrick, Regional Security Director, EMEA at World Travel Protection, said: “This International Women’s Day, it’s important to note that, compared to men, women often have different safety considerations to think about when travelling for work. The risk will generally increase in countries with less equality. It’s essential, therefore, that women have a full understanding of the cultural norms in their destinations from what to wear to how they act, for example perhaps avoiding alcohol in public. We often undertake specific risk assessments for women business travelers to make sure their safety and security is the highest priority.”
Fitzpatrick continues, “As well as safety considerations, women business travelers may face gender bias in some cultures where it’s not the norm to have women in senior roles. I’ve personally experienced sexism and push-back because of my gender. People are surprised to meet a woman Director of Security, and whether it is a police chief in South America or a site risk inspection in West Africa, I regularly have to detail my past work in security and government law enforcement to give me credibility, something which my men colleagues never have to do.”
“World Travel Protection educates and trains businesses to mitigate exposure to inherent risks associated with travelling abroad, for all staff, whatever their gender. We provide 24 hours medical, travel and security emergency assistance including medical case management, evacuation, and repatriation, together with providing access to virtual care services (telehealth) and security intelligence,” Fitzpatrick adds.
*Opinium online survey conducted with 2,001 people, who travel for business at least once a year in U.K., Australia, U.S., and Canada, from January 23 to February 2, 2023.
