Organizational Empowerment Practices, Psychological Empowerment and Work Outcomes among Male and Female Front-Line Service Employees in Five-Star Turkish Hotels -Signs of Progress

It has been reported that women working in the hospitality and tourism sector face more challenges in their work and careers than men because of their gender. This research investigated potential gender differences in perceptions of organizational empowerment practices, feelings of psychological empowerment, important work outcomes and self-reported assessments of service quality among front line service workers in five star hotels in Turkey. Data were collected from 266 front-line service workers (166 men and 100 women), a 66 percent response rate, from six hotels using anonymously completed questionnaires. Respondents were typically relatively young, had short job and hotel tenures, and held non-management jobs. All measures had been used and validated previously by other researchers. The data showed that women and men generally reported similar levels of empowerment, indicated similar levels on work outcomes, as well on perceptions of service quality provided. We interpret the absence of significant gender differences as signs of progress.