Research Article: 2021 Vol: 24 Issue: 3S
Alfatma Fatehallah Salama, Princess Nourahbint Abdulrahman University
Sanjeevni Gangwani, Princess Nourahbint Abdulrahman University
Citation Information: Salama, A.F., & Gangwani, S. (2021). A critical review of safety and security laws for working women in hospitality sector in KSA. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 24(7), 1-5
In the hospitality sector especially in hotel industry, women are required to work for extended hours till late at night in order to serve the customers. However, there exist well designed policies for safety and security of guests in the hospitality sector to protect the guests on the hotel property from injury or death by safety measures. But there is a need to formulate employment-related laws for safety and security of working women in hotel industry. So that women workers do not quit their jobs in fear and anxiety. The purpose of present study is to critically examine the issues related to safety and security of working women in hospitality sector in KSA to reflect to society the benefits and resources available to women in the hospitality sector and to achieve women's social and economic participation. The present study is qualitative in nature. Content analysis of existing literature and previous study relating to safety and security of women in hospitality sector in KSA was done. Recommendations are included at the end of the research. The results of the study can be useful for women graduates who are interested to choose hospitality industry as their career option.
Hospitality Sector, Hotel Industry, Safety a nd Security Laws, Working Women, KSA.
The Kingdom has progressed in employment of women in vario u s sectors including hotel industry. The government in KSA has initiated the implementation of legislation that ensure the protection and security of women's work in the hospitality sector. Safety is described as the absence of conditions that are harmful to one's health. Security entails the absence of fear and a nxiety associated with personal injury. The Wom en's career growth is hampered due to lack of safety and security at the workplace. These problems can be resolved by enacting effective legislation, increa sing community understanding, as well as generating employment in all regions. The current research, focuses on safety and security laws for women in hospitality sector , especially in hotel industry . If there is protection and safety, women will feel secure and protected at their work place , as well as perform their jobs with the utmost accuracy. Most of the women graduates are unaware that the hospitality industry is expanding, and that choosing it as a profession would be lucrative. Further more, the hospitality industry can be a healt hy and stable work field for women to pursue as a profession.
Cummins, 1997 assessed the Health well - being and safety well - being of employees in hospitality sector. Three protection life domain metrics were used to measure health well - b eing, and five elements were proposed to measure safety well - being. Protection, personal control, privacy, and residence stability were considered to be part of the safety well - being. The researchers identified the following significant health and safety i ndicators for employees in the hospitality sector: Health facili ties and service quality, Water, Air , Environmental quality, Environmental cleanliness, Safety and security Accident rate or crime rate. Waudby (2012) explored unknown insecurities and legalized for many women in the workplace, that there are no measures in place to address these actions and the potential of codifying them to ensure a healthy working atmosphere. Chauhan et al (2018); Alonso & O’Neill, (201 1 ) ; Pritchard a nd Morgan ( 201 7); Marco (2016) stated that t he hotels' safety and security laws should be adequate and up to date, so that women workers suffer no problem at their work place . Asharqia chamber (2012) stated that the working conditions for Saudi women in hos pitality sector must ensures healthy working atmosphere.
Santero et al . (2015) explained the significance of job security, job length , employment income and other emoluments such as salaries, benefits such as insurance plans and permanent/temporary jobs. They identified that workplace safety and gender equity include work - related injuries and other occupational health hazards, as well as women's engagement and advancement. Gan and Quahn (2015), found that health and safety training was important for proper work climate. Furthermore, many students were unaware of their rights to a healthy working atmosphere, as they were unaware of the related hotels' health and safety policies, and personal protection at work was not adequately emphasized in occupational he alth and safety training. Ariza et al . (2017) discussed women worker rights and information .They identified the following characteristics of workplace: Long working hours that often violate labor laws, Schedules that make it difficult to strike out a bal ance between work and family life, Excessive workload and time pressure that force intense work rhythms ,Monotonous and repetitive tasks in many of the sector's positions, which limit the capacity for creativity and individual initiative, permanent contact with customers that can be frustrating, Insufficient experience and/or preparation in some roles, The main effect of the preceding conditions is a high degree of stress and anxiety, which contributes to the company's abandonment. Sultana & Khan, (2017) investigated the existence of a "glass ceiling" for women in China's hotel industry. They found that there is a negative view of women who work in the hospitality industry in society. This is a negative thought that needs to be improved. People should hear m ore about the industry's prospects. They must think broadly and optimistically.
Masadeh et al. (2018), women's work in tourism guidance is difficult for society because they leave their homes and household affairs for a period of time outside, as well as the lack of protection in travel, which runs counter to social acceptance and religious norms in our Arab society. According to ( Singh and et al ., 2018) , there are laws that address all touris related issues that directly or indirectly impact the tourism sector. For example, labor laws governing workers' working conditions and wages, as well as conservation laws governing environmental preservation, landmarks, and historical sites. - Laws relating to crime committed by visitors or against tourists. Cregut - Aston & Darioly ( 2019 ) highlighted the women role in tourism industry in Saudi Arabia , and found that in light of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, Saudi has made a concerted effort to promote and encourage more women to participate in the sector through streng thened legislation, new policies, education, supporting SM Es, and career development, Alasgah (2021); Salama and AlTurif (2021) found that the rate of women's empowerment in the Kingdom's vision is aimed at reaching 90 percent but economic adversity was one of the major obstacles. Salama and AlTurif (2021) emphasized on the need of Human resources in the tourism industry's success, as they help to raise community awareness and opportunities. Cook and Grimshaw (2021), Public poli cy interventions and economic opportunities should be provided for working women with respect to their disproportionate jobs to ensure a gender - sensitive recovery from the crisis. After an extensive critical review of existing and previous researches relat ing to safety and security of women in KSA, it can be concluded that there is a need to highlight the safety and security laws for working women in hospitality sector (Darioly & Gueuning, 2018) .
Research Objectives
1. To examine the existing safety and security laws in hospitality sector in KSA for working women.
2. To suggest effective strategies for better participation of women in hospitality sector in KSA .
The present study is qualitative in nature. Content analysis of existing literature and previous study relating to safety and security of women in hospitality sector in KSA was done.
After an extensive critical review of existing and previous researches relating to safety and security of women in KSA the fol lowing observations were identified. The legislator has guaranteed the laws that pertain to working women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as set of Islamic law legislation that protects the working woman and ensures her enough time for psychologica l satisfaction . The Minister of Labor released a series of ministerial decisions aimed at improving the work climate, establishing processes, and controlling the work environment by introducing new legislation, new policies, education, supporting SMEs, and career development .The Ministry keeps track of whether private sector companies are following ministerial decisions. Inspections are carried out to ensure that establishments are complying with ministerial decisions. Inspections are conducted in a variet y of ways, including annual visits to ensure compliance or reports that are sent to every facility. The attendance and departure fingerprint for females does not exceed eight hours (based on the number of reports received for the year 2019). "Together Monitoring " application was implemented, an electronic communication platform that allows members of the public to report alleged labor system abuses. Employing women during the night - between sunset and sunrise - for a duration of not less than eleven consecutive hours is forbidden, except un der the following circumstances: if the job is in kitchens. If the job is at a family amusement park. Further, The Ministry of Tourism in KSA aims to provide 100,000 work opportunities for national cadres in the tourism sector by the end of this year (2021 AD), as part of its human capital development plan, which aims to provide one million jobs by 2030. To p romote women participation and break down existing gender barriers in the industry, KSA is worki ng with international partners in tourism industry bot h locally and globally .
Employers, administrators, legal regulatory bodies and government agencies should work together to ensure safety and security of working women in hospitality sector. he employers must provide safe and stable workplace for their women workers. Any hotel's operations plan should include ensuring the safety of frontline hospitality employees. Employers should provide protection systems for working women to overcome the problem of sexual assault in the workplace. The employ ers must provide protection to female employees both during working hours and when they are dropped off at home at odd hours. Employers, too, are supposed to be sympathetic to their workers and to offer as much assistance as possible to protect its brand dentity. Girls (especiall y new graduates) should not be assigned night duty. Even while working an evening shift, a security guard must be present with a single girl on the guest floor. The hospitality industry must declare Zero tolerance harassment poli cy for female employees who are subject to harassment, and they must be encouraged to address to the management if they encounter any cases of harassment at the workplace . Occupational health and safety training programs must be organized related to hotels ' health and safety polici es, and personal protection of work rights .Campaigns must be developed for awareness of scope of private sector job opportunities in hospitality sector. Women must be made aware about job's peculiarities in hotel industry before a job is chosen . Young women graduates must be imparted the hospitality education as well as the made aware about laws addressing workplace harassment. Further, development of a legal and regulatory system for the hospitality industry will ensure more participation of women workforce.
1. Research analysis is qualitative in nature; results are not based on a ctual survey.
2. Security and safety laws in hospitality sector is included, the study does not include other sectors .
This research was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourahbint Abdulrahman University through the fast track research funding program.