Workforce Equity for Porters: Why It Matters & Why Travel Companies Should Be an Ally

Pole! Pole! (Slowly! Slowly!)

This is the usual mantra that many trekkers hear on the trails of Kilimanjaro as they make their ascent towards Africa’s highest point.

Summiting Kilimanjaro requires the service of mountain guides and most definitely the support of porters - the local people in charge of carrying the group’s gear and personal items. 

In fact, the workforce in Kilimanjaro, Peru’s Inca Trail, and Nepal’s Himalayan trails are dominated by porters. Why? Typically, for every tourist, two or more porters are assigned to carry gear. Yet, despite the sheer number of porters working in the trekking tourism industries of Nepal, Peru, and Tanzania, the voices of porters are hardly heard and valued when it comes to ensuring their working conditions are equitable. 

For instance, in Peru’s Classic Inca Trail, the 8,000-member Federation of Inca Trail Porters has been advocating for Workforce Equity and the much-needed changes in the so-called “Porter Laws” for decades now – but to no avail. In Nepal and Tanzania, there is a lack of porter-led advocacy groups; porters in these regions have no way to elevate their voices.

As the founder of the human rights advocacy non-profit organization, The Porter Voice Collective (PVC), I came to learn first-hand the inequities that porters face in all three regions through in-person interviews and independent field research. In Nepal’s, Peru’s, and Tanzania’s tourism industries, there is a pattern among a majority of tour operators of underpayment or nonpayment of porters, lack of proper accommodations on the trails, lack of proper meals, and lack of medical and accident insurance, among a number of other work issues that have persisted from the start. 

Fortunately, many consumers and travelers are now cultivating a more inclusive and equitable mindset when it comes to selecting travel products and tour operators. At PVC, we educate consumers as to ways they can be an advocate for Workforce Equity Tourism when choosing the tour operators for their treks that involve porters.

With the major shift in consumer mindset, travel companies must follow suit, especially since the sustainability of the trekking tourism industry relies heavily on the porters. Without them, tourists will not be able to reach the summits safely and successfully. We can all see the critical role porters play in this industry as they are truly the “backbone” of the trekking tourism industry. 

There is another important reason why travel companies must begin to take action on creating Workforce Equity when it comes to porters - in recent years there has been a rise of female porters in the industry as many women see the portering job as their stepping stone towards becoming guides. In our research on female porters, we learned that many, if not all, experience varying degrees of sexism and discrimination within the industry. Often, women struggle with getting hired as their male counterparts are often given preference for the job. Once they are on the job, female porters often report being subjected to the sexist conduct of the male porters and guides, which can range from sexist remarks to outright sexual harassment. Not only do women have to contend with gender-based inequities, but they also have to deal with the exploitative and poor working conditions that porters face in general.

Unlike tourists, travel companies have direct access to the porters; hence, they must be at the forefront of the movement toward Workforce Equity as a means to create systemic changes. 

As a start, here are some ways travel companies can become the allies we need in order to create equitable working conditions for the porters in the trekking tourism industry:

1. Hire External Equity Consultants

Hire a third-party organization or consultant with expertise in Workforce Equity to assess the working environment for all the members of your workforce. The Porter Voice Collective (PVC) is an independently run human rights organization tasked to conduct research on travel companies’ efforts and investment in creating an equitable working environment for the porters. Organizations such as PVC that are devoted solely to advocating for an equitable and inclusive tourism industry can provide an unbiased and honest assessment of Workforce Equity within the operations of the travel company. 

Hiring a third-party entity to conduct the research is critical to avoid any conflict of interest that can lead to biased outcomes. For instance, it’s important to steer away from relying solely on the local agency that you partner with to assess the Workforce Equity of your company when it comes to porters. If you are a foreign company that partners with a locally owned agency in Peru, Nepal or Tanzania, be forewarned that relying on the words or representations of the local agency alone often does not suffice, as many local agencies lack transparency when it comes to how they treat porters. In fact, based on our research, many are not forthcoming with the inequities that the porters are experiencing on the ground.

2. Speak to Porters

Connect with the porters directly and engage in conversations with them about the working conditions. Equity work involves creating meaningful dialogues with the porters and having their voices heard on the matter. Ensure that the measures you take include the input of the porters and a full assessment of their needs, as well as, the changes they wish to see.

3. Make a Clear Commitment to Workforce Equity

When you decide to commit to creating Workforce Equity within your company, make sure that intention is communicated clearly with supporting details that can easily be corroborated and verified by the consumers. Explain your reasons for creating Workforce Equity on behalf of the porters. Be open and transparent on the salary, accommodations, and work benefits that your porters are receiving. 

4. Engage Participants in Equity Discussions

Encourage your travelers to have conversations about Workforce Equity. Tourists themselves can be your most reliable witness when it comes to assessing the working conditions for the porters. Lean into these conversations with your customers and be diligent and honest in providing them with answers when customers want to learn more about the ways you are creating Workforce Equity.

5. Empower Travelers to Advocate for Porters

Create guidelines for your customers on ways to be an effective advocate for Workforce Equity. Educate your customers on why Workforce Equity matters and how they can support the porters on the job and their local communities, as well as, how to be a proponent of promoting indigenous culture and heritage on the trails as many of the porters belong to indigenous communities who have seen their culture exploited and/or minimized on the mountain trails by virtue of working as porters.

The above-noted steps are just some of the ways you can begin on your journey to create Workforce Equity for porters. As part of the tourism industry, it is also imperative that you engage in ongoing discussions on the issue of Workforce Equity within the industry so as to create a coalition of changemakers that are willing to invest in changes not just on an individual basis but on a systemic level. 

To dismantle decades of workforce inequities, a long-term commitment to creating Workforce Equity should no longer be treated as an option. It’s a must-do for both consumers and companies in order to create a sustainable and equitable trekking tourism industry.

Explore these references to learn more

• The Porter Voice Collective
• 8 Ways Tourists Can Advocate for Workforce Equity for Porters in Peru, Nepal & Tanzania
• The Fight for Workforce Equity on Kilimanjaro
• Dismantling the Gender Gap: The state of gender equity for female porters on the Inca Trail and Kilimanjaro