‘Emotional’ female managers: How gendered roles influence tourism management discourse

Abstract

Drawing on recent research conducted in Portugal, male and female tourism managers' perceptions of how gender roles influence managerial discourse are analyzed. The data, gathered through focus groups, is questioned from the ontological position that participants represent gendered economic subjectivities and hence participant accounts illustrate the ways in which gender roles influence tourism management discourse. This paper presents the multiple, context-specific issues arising from thematic analysis of focus group transcripts, using WebQda qualitative analysis software. Focusing on tourism managers' expressions of what comprises desired managerial characteristics, the ways in which gender roles influence the norms surrounding tourism management discourse are analyzed. Results show that managerial characteristics associated with women and femininity, such as emotionality, are progressively being incorporated into managerial ideals, but that gender roles connecting femininity to caring roles continue their influence. The social agitation caused by these complex interactions encourages conceptual progress in tourism management discourse. This paper contributes to a more holistic representation of today's economic reality by presenting an in-depth investigation into how gender roles relate to wider social, economic and political considerations within the context of tourism management in Portugal.