Özet:

Abstract This study aimed to identify the reasons why well-educated female employees leave the tourism industry. A qualitative research design was applied by conducting interviews with a purposive sample of 12 women who left the tourism industry to develop careers in other fields. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The content analysis revealed three main categories of factors driving female employees to leave the tourism industry: (1) non-fulfillment of occupational expectations; (2) sexist attitudes; and (3) the desire to feel valued. Specifically, the participants perceive that women are insufficiently represented in managerial positions in tourism, their administrative skills are undervalued, gender-based wage inequality is common, and employment opportunities are shaped by their personal qualities (e.g., marital status, physical appearance) rather than their educational and vocational qualifications. A number of other critical factors also induce women to leave the tourism industry. These include lack of professionalism and a non-systematic approach, assessment of job performance based on financial outputs rather than work quality, egoistic managerial behaviors, impolite communication, perfectionism and fear of making mistakes, and, most importantly, psychological and physical harassment.

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