Women dominate South Africas tourism sector, but are still under-represented at management and senior management level. Milissa Naidoo, Deputy General Manager for the Portswood and Commodore hotels in Cape Towns V A Waterfront believes this is starting to change.
Naidoo earned her tourism qualification from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, after which she completed an internship at Shamwari Private Game Reserve. There, she worked her way up from helping in the curio shop to Assistant Lodge Manager.
She joined the Legacy Group in 2008, and after 16 years with the group, was appointed Deputy General Manager of the Portswood and Commodore hotels in 2023 where she now oversees a combined 335 rooms.
Data released by the Department of Tourism in 2022, indicates that despite making up nearly 70% of the tourism workforce, women hold less than 40% of managerial positions in South Africa. In general management roles, this drops to 20% and to between five and eight per cent of board positions.
But, Naidoo said she can see this starting to change. Approximately 80% of the interviewees the hotel has seen in its recruitment drive across roles over the past six months, have been women.
