Empowerment Within Context: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Egyptian Women’s Experiences in Hospitality Education

This study explores how Egyptian women experience hospitality education and the meanings they attach to these experiences within their cultural context. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, 38 women enrolled in or recently completing hospitality education programs were interviewed. Three themes emerged: Reclaiming Agency Through Professional Identity, Navigating Cultural Boundaries: The Quiet Revolution, and Networks of Possibility: Building Bridges Beyond the Domestic Sphere. Participants described hospitality education as transformative, shifting from feeling invisible to valued, developing mastery that extended beyond the workplace, and accessing new professional networks. Rather than experiencing conflict between professional and cultural identities, women engaged in sophisticated cultural navigation, strategically pursuing development while maintaining authenticity. Hospitality education functioned as space for what participants termed “contextual empowerment,” or professional growth integrated with cultural identity. Findings reveal hospitality education’s role in facilitating professional identity development, suggest the need for culturally responsive pedagogical approaches, and challenge assumptions about vocational education.