“Many women, particularly singletons, apply for a job because they get to travel and they actually quit if they are not given the opportunity!” says Beena George, a city-based project manager with an IT firm. The young mother of an eight-year-old works in marketing and has just returned from a week-long business trip to the Trinidad and Tobago. “I have to travel roughly every two months, maybe more. Last year, we were delivering on a project and I had to fly to Johannesburg every couple of weeks. I enjoy meeting clients face to face but travelling is not something I like; it’s mostly another task that is part of the job,” she adds.
A little over a decade ago many women would have rather quit their jobs than live out of a suitcase, today, stats show that almost half of the world’s business travellers are women.
Naina Balakrishnan, 28, a management consultant, says she chose her job because it involved travel to Saudi Arabia, every week. “Right now, Saudi is the best place to further my career and that’s where I want to be. Yes, I have to wear a burqa to work but that's immaterial in the larger scheme of things,” she says.
Indeed, most women hit the road because they want to go places in their career. Corporate communications executive and TV anchor Rekha Menon is one of them and has travelled to places ranging from South Korea and Romania to the United States and Costa Rica, on work. “Why do people travel for work? It’s to build a working relationship with a client that one may not be able to do as effectively over the phone or via video conferencing,” she says. Meeting clients face-to-face apparently allows you to get insights into their working, which in turn helps you to ideate, analyse and execute their needs better. “Women these days are as ambitious as their male colleagues. They all have long term goals and want to advance their careers thus. It also helps that parents/family members are now open to the idea of the women travelling alone,” says Rekha.
Priya Pillai, Lead-Research Update, Karnataka Health Promotion Trust, is another seasoned traveller, whose work demands that she go into the interiors of the state and also abroad. “All those battles for equal opportunity are finally paying off. Women are getting better opportunities and access to public spaces and globally there is a move to get more and more of them into traditionally male-dominated environments - business travel, among others,” says Priya, emphasising that it’s never an easy task. “I’m constantly negotiating even that space. For example, every time I travel I am at loggerheads with my mother, who simply can’t stop worrying,” she adds.
Usually, there’s not much to worry, as the offices go that extra mile to smooth their way. And that’s right from booking flight and/or train tickets to checking them into the best accommodation available. They also often give the women access to company credit cards for the trip. Small town girl Damayanthi Sankar, who travels to Syracuse in the U.S. every few months, thanks to her job as an SAP consultant, says: “The first time I travelled to Syracuse was only the second time I ever got on a plane! Thankfully, the company had arranged for everything. So I didn’t have to worry about anything, other than zeroing in on the cabbie from among the crowd at the arrivals hall at JFK Airport!”
Nonetheless, most of them have had their fair share of unfortunate incidents of travelling alone – of muggings (Rekha once lost US$ 600), being fleeced by cabbies (“routinely,” says Damayanthi), faulty credit cards (Beena’s conked out in Germany), over booked hotels, losing their way, running out of petrol, car breakdowns, food poisoning…
Apart from safety, food is the other major challenge. “The reality is that you can never be sure of the hygiene or the quality of food, especially in rural areas of the country. You should be very careful of what you eat. I try to eat only vegetarian food and always carry bottled water,” says Priya, a “veteran” of food poisoning. Then again finding vegetarian food is not often easy. The women say that in countries such as South Africa, Eastern parts of Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Eastern Europe, for example, where cuisine is predominantly non-vegetarian, it’s very difficult to find vegetarian food. “Many of my vegetarian colleagues survive on bread and instant food packets or depend on fast food chains,” she adds. Beena chips in: “There’s only so many burgers and pizzas you can eat! If you are in a country for longer than a week’s its best to check into a service apartment and cook your own food.”
Foodie Damayanthi's her pet peeve is travelling within the destination. “I don’t drive and that means when I am in cities/towns where there is limited public transportation, I have to rely on cabs to travel. And that’s not all that safe an option, especially at night. Count yourself lucky if you have colleagues who will pick you up and drop you off, in these instances,” she explains. Rekha agrees. “I always insist that my office books tickets that get me to a particular destination before 7 p.m. local time. That way before it’s too late, I will be in the hotel,” she says.
At the end of the day the women say that it pays to be cautious. “The general thumb rules for travellers apply to us too. You’ve got to be aware of your surroundings and never ever get yourself in a situation, which puts you in danger or on unfamiliar territory, especially when you decide to go exploring the cities after work,” says Beena. Let it be known that her idea of staying safe is sticking to the office or the hotel! “All I want to do is finish and get back home to my husband and son!” she says with a laugh.
Safety first
Safety, say the women, is paramount, especially if they are travelling to somewhere unfamiliar. Here are some first-hand tips:
Make sure that you are in touch with someone back home. Call/text your whereabouts throughout the day and especially when you get back to the hotel.
Ensure you communicate with or introduce yourself to a local contact (even if its a friend of a friend of a friend) before you begin the journey. You never know when you need to reach out to someone.
If you are ordering room service, stand by the door, with it open, whilst the bearer is in the room.
Blend in like a local, which is easy if you are in a place like New York but not so much if you are travelling in the interiors. The moment you act touristy, you’ll come under the purveyance of unwanted elements like pickpockets.
