Sexual Harassment in the Dutch Hospitality Industry : From Students' Perspectives
Harte, Ashley (2017)
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Lataukset:
Harte, Ashley
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201705046399
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201705046399
Tiivistelmä
The hospitality industry is seen as one of the industries with the highest number of sexual harassment incidents happening at the work floor. Research discussed reasons for its occurrence, stating reasons as power, vulnerability, but also misinterpretation of one party to another based on body language. One may claim that this industry’s image and having the bedroom as work floor are playing important roles as trigger for sexual harassment to happen casually. To add, the division between sexual harassment initiated by guests and between colleagues is made here. Furthermore, despite that women are often seen as victims of sexual harassment, presence of male victims is noticeable. Nevertheless, most victims feel insecure or do not know where to go in terms of speaking up. Moreover, the Netherlands is scoring high in sexual harassment rates and researched argued that graduates of hotel schools in the Netherlands are leaving the industry with high numbers as soon as they experience working.
The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions and attitudes of students towards sexual harassment in the Dutch hospitality industry. The research objectives are first to study the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the phenomenon of sexual harassment at the work floor. Second is to explore the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the hospitality industry in general. Third, the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the industry’s reputation in sexual harassment are studied. And fourth, the students’ experiences and interpretation of certain situations in cases of sexual harassment during related work and internships in the hospitality industry are analysed. Empirical research is done among 114 students of three different hotel schools in the Netherlands, using a web-based survey tool. A quantitative research method is used and the t-test of significance is done to be able to analyse all respondents together, but also to make a division between gender for corresponding questions.
Based on the results, assumptions are providing the possibility to argue that the students participated in the research nowadays seem to be more tolerant towards lighter forms of sexual harassment being ‘inappropriate invitations to go out on dates’ and ‘disturbing questions about their private life’. They seem to know about the phenomenon of sexual harassment, although nine out of ten students did not discuss sexual harassment during their studies and/or study. However, most students seem not to reconsider working in the hospitality industry because of this risk. And even though nine out of ten students felt some sort of pressure or stress during social interactions with guests, almost half see themselves definitely working in the industry after graduating. Yet, earlier research suggested that 70 percent of Dutch hotel school students left the industry after graduation. Another contradiction between literature and this study was seen most respondents argued that the hospitality industry is not a gendered industry and only some occupations could be sexualized, while previous research assumes that there are more women working in the industry and sexualisation of this industry is an often occurrence.
The purpose of this research is to explore the perceptions and attitudes of students towards sexual harassment in the Dutch hospitality industry. The research objectives are first to study the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the phenomenon of sexual harassment at the work floor. Second is to explore the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the hospitality industry in general. Third, the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the industry’s reputation in sexual harassment are studied. And fourth, the students’ experiences and interpretation of certain situations in cases of sexual harassment during related work and internships in the hospitality industry are analysed. Empirical research is done among 114 students of three different hotel schools in the Netherlands, using a web-based survey tool. A quantitative research method is used and the t-test of significance is done to be able to analyse all respondents together, but also to make a division between gender for corresponding questions.
Based on the results, assumptions are providing the possibility to argue that the students participated in the research nowadays seem to be more tolerant towards lighter forms of sexual harassment being ‘inappropriate invitations to go out on dates’ and ‘disturbing questions about their private life’. They seem to know about the phenomenon of sexual harassment, although nine out of ten students did not discuss sexual harassment during their studies and/or study. However, most students seem not to reconsider working in the hospitality industry because of this risk. And even though nine out of ten students felt some sort of pressure or stress during social interactions with guests, almost half see themselves definitely working in the industry after graduating. Yet, earlier research suggested that 70 percent of Dutch hotel school students left the industry after graduation. Another contradiction between literature and this study was seen most respondents argued that the hospitality industry is not a gendered industry and only some occupations could be sexualized, while previous research assumes that there are more women working in the industry and sexualisation of this industry is an often occurrence.