Transformative insights and evolving roles of women managers in Iran’s tourism industry

ENG- The thesis consists of three research articles: two research papers and one research note. It examines the transformative impacts of tourism leadership roles on Iranian women managers, the evolving trajectories of their managerial self-perception, and their potential to create broader workplace and social change. These themes are explored across three distinct yet interconnected research pieces. Utilizing qualitative methodologies together with a feminist epistemology (Aitchison, 2005; Pritchard, 2014), these three studies collectively generate a multi-level perspective on women managers in tourism, culminating in a conceptual framework that establishes a model for understanding how women's leadership development in restrictive contexts generates valuable shifts in organizational cultures and societal practices. By mapping the interplay between internal transformation and structural change, this study offers a new theoretical lens while equipping tourism institutions with actionable insights for fostering equitable ecosystems. Iran is the chosen case study for this thesis, offering valuable and insightful perspectives for several reasons. While recent studies on gender in tourism have increasingly focused on women in developing countries (Efthymiadou & Farmaki, 2023), in the field of women in tourism management research has predominantly centered on Western contexts and fewer studies have explored this topic in developing regions. Examining Iran is not just another different geographical setting for a case study, as this case amplifies the voices of women in a restrictive society. Iran’s gender apartheid (ranked 143/146 in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024) and the widespread protests of 2022 serve as strong evidence of a unique case of systemic gender discrimination and inequality across the world. These factors make Iran a compelling and necessary setting for an in-depth exploration of women in tourism management. To articulate the complex and layered nature of change revealed in the study, the thesis proposes a transformational framework grounded in existing multidimensional models. This framework traces the evolving internal traits and values of Iranian women in tourism management, demonstrating how leadership roles in the tourism industry can extend far beyond financial empowerment to shape their personalities and perspectives on gender. The shifting self-perceptions of these women, particularly during moments of social unrest in Iran, reveal that even within a restrictive patriarchal society, women continue to evolve. These women’s negotiation of gendered power within organizational structures and their capacity to act as transformative agents is further expressed through subtle yet powerful shifts in language, offering deep insight into how personal change can influence broader social transformation