In India for example money made by women hosting guests can represent 31 per cent of the household income, whereas in Germany it only represents three per cent. Women in Japan are the best earners of AirBnB income at $10,000 per year, 15 percent of annual household income.
There are almost 7,000 women hosts in Ireland, which is more than 60 per cent overall. Typical income for women hosts is €3,489, and for some supplements part time earnings. From that income Irish women spend around 23 per cent on regular household expenses like bills and groceries.
Women face high barriers to entry in particular occupations, especially as major technological forces reshape the global labour market. Hosting is not a blanket solution to global problems of economic inequality, but it can provide an important, independent stream of income for women hosts.
The 2017 World Economic Forum noted that “the rise of automation and artificial intelligence is projected to be far more destructive globally to jobs currently favoured by women than to jobs favoured by men.” The International Labour Office (ILO) studies show that when factors are equal education, occupations, hours worked, women are still paid less than men for similar work.
In Europe and the United States the pay gap is about 20 percent less in other countries the gap is higher. In the US, new data from Pew Research Center show that “while the percentage of women in the workforce has risen dramatically in recent decades, the growth is expected to stagnate and reverse over the next 40 years.” A sobering thought.
The Global Fund for Women was set up in 1988 and provides grants to women’s groups around the world to help fund women-led organisations who are fighting for justice in their own communities. Women leaders and activists of the Global Fund are being supported in travel requirements by AirBnB to attend training, meetings and speaking engagements.
On a day devoted to women let us look at how a small idea of sharing a home has been instrumental in giving one million women financial empowerment. The World Bank says that increasing the share of household income controlled by women boosts spending in ways that benefit children, strengthens economic growth and intergenerational mobility.
This report from Airbnb “Women hosts and Airbnb: Building a Global Community” is available here https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/WomensReport_print_3-2-17_v1-2.pdf