Abstract:
Women's participation in the hotel industry is currently declining due to many reasons. In this
context, this study has explored this phenomena by conducting interviews with the women
who are currently working in hotels and other unemployed women from the society to
explore their perceptions towards employements in hotel industry in the Batticaloa.
Hence, aims of this study are to explore the nature of the job opportunities and level of
women employment in the hotel sector in Batticaloa, the factors that positively influence the
women to work in the hotel sector in Batticaloa, factors that negatively influence the women
who are working and not working in the hotel sector in Batticaloa, women's perceptions
towards employment in the hotel sector in Batticaloa and recommend possible strategies to
increase women's employment participation in the hotel sector in Batticaloa. To find out
about the women 's perceptions of employment at the Batticaloa Hotel, the interviews were
conducted among the working women in selected four hotels in Batticaloa and unemployed
women of Pethalai and Kalkudah areas of Batticaloa. It is an inductive study where the
qualitative approach was undertaken, 20 employed women and 20 unemployed wo'toen *e.e
interviewed by using a semi-structured interview method. Collected data were analyzed using
NVivo l0 through Thematic Analysis. According to the findings, similar perceptions were
observed regarding employed and unemployed women towards employements in the hotel
sectors.
Further, study found that there are some positive factors iuch as financial aid, motivation,
welfare service, skills development, and social interactions were influence them to work in
the hotel sector in Batticaloa. At the same time, the researcher found there are some negative
factors such as unexpected situations, harassment, overwork, customer reaction, less job
security, and lack of knowledge were negatively influence the women who are working and
not working in the hotel sector in Batticaloa. The syndrome researcher found that women 's
perceptions such as culture and society influence, glass ceiling, high male dominance, lower
level of work, and personal behaviors were considered as some key aspects of their
perceptions of employment in the hotel sector in Batticaloa. Finally, the researcher proposed
some policies and frameworks for policymakers to boost the performance of working women
and to increase the involvement of women in hotels in Batticaloa.