Making women feel safer on business trips

In a recent survey commissioned by World Travel Protection earlier this month, 71 percent of female respondents felt travelling for work is less safe for women than men.

A cause for concern

There are various safety concerns women face, including location-specific risks, sexual assault or harassment, assault and kidnapping. To deal with these concerns, women have begun to take various precautionary measures such as being in constant contact with their families, choosing trusted accommodations, placing an obstacle against hotel doors to deter an intruder, or avoiding going to restaurants alone, opting for room service instead.

Whilst these are common measures taken by both men and women, female business travellers face a greater risk statistically than male business travellers. Women often feel the need to change their travel arrangements or take extra precautions while travelling due to safety concerns. A majority of female travellers admitted this leads to lower productivity as they are preoccupied with safety concerns.

Urgent action required

The onus of addressing these concerns often lies with the companies as they have a duty of care and responsibility for their employees while sending them on work trips. Having

effective travel management policies and systems in place that cater to the unique safety needs of women are therefore vital.

According to International SOS’s 2023 Risk Outlook, the world is becoming an even more dangerous place – and that danger will be felt more severely by women. That is why companies need to regularly assess and update their travel management in line with ISO 31030 to ensure the unique needs of business-travelling women are met.

Find out more about how your business can stay ISO 31030-compliant.