This research explores hotel staff work conditions in the New Zealand context. Furthermore, it explores women’s career expectations and gender barriers in the New Zealand hotel industry. Previous studies have highlighted a significant issue: women and men hold different career expectations and experience distinct progressions within their hospitality careers. Particularly notable is the observation that women encounter more obstacles compared to men in advancing within the hotel industry. To have a better understanding of women’s hotel careers, this study has focused on exploring women’s career expectations and whether gender barriers affect their career expectations and career progressions.

This research applied a quantitative method, and an online survey was used to collect data about demographic profiles, career conditions, career progressions career expectations and barriers. The survey was open to eligible hotel employees in New Zealand. There were three main findings from this study. Firstly, the results indicated that women and men were facing some common challenges in their hotel careers while women were more negatively affected by these issues. Secondly, sexual harassment, work-life conflicts, and mobility issues were the main gender barriers women faced. Lastly, this study had a novel finding that women’s career expectations tended to decline as their careers progressed due to the barriers, while men’s were increasingly positive. This dissertation concludes with theoretical and practical implications of the study, in the hope it will help create better and more reasonable career development for women in the New Zealand hotel industry.