Male Domination in Housekeeping

[discjoker]

So here is something I was wondering. Why is it that most of the housekeeping staff onboard are male (at least in my experience)? All of my room stewards have indeed been stewards (male).

 

In the states and in most hotels I have been to abroad, the housekeeping staff is almost always (i think without exception) been mostly female.

 

So again the question is: in a field that is dominated by woman, why is most of the housekeeping staff on a ship male?

[scchasgal]

So here is something I was wondering. Why is it that most of the housekeeping staff onboard are male (at least in my experience)? All of my room stewards have indeed been stewards (male).

 

In the states and in most hotels I have been to abroad, the housekeeping staff is almost always (i think without exception) been mostly female.

 

So again the question is: in a field that is dominated by woman, why is most of the housekeeping staff on a ship male?

 

 

My guess would be that most of these males on the ship are supporting families back home

[LOWTYD]

That was my thought also. I think they are more outgoing and you can kid around with tme easier too . You know how guys are!:rolleyes: I don't think I ever can remember having a female room attendant. No offense to women, because I am one too, but males can also handle the bashing from not so nice passangers better than females. You don't want to let those raging hormones the best of you!:) Just my opinion.

[bakerintn]

I agree that it is probably because the wife stays home raising the kids while the husband works abroad and hopefully sends money home.

 

I have had female cabin stewards though.

[BikerAl]

The head housekeeper on the Jewel is female, and one of our room stewards was also, so there are women doing the job. It is true that the majority are male. Oh, the room steward had to get help to put that monster duvet on the king size bed...honest. I suspect there is an awful lot of heavey lifting.

 

Al

[terrymtex01]

We had a female room steward on both Carnival and RCCL and I have to say without exception every room steward we have had has just been wonderful in every sense of the word. From the work they have done to their own personalities.

 

I do have my own theory as to why it is male dominated though. I kind of thought maybe it was more tradition. For instance, back when cruising was truly just for the rich most pax had a butler to serve their needs. (At least that is my understanding from recently reading an article here on CC). And back then the Butler did every thing including keeping the stateroom clean. Most Butlers, even today, are male. I thought maybe that as the demand for Butlers deminished, these hard working cruise staff transitioned into room stewards, having a tradition of being mostly male by default of the previous position. Not saying that the Butlers of yester years became room stewards, just saying the tradition remained. WAY out there theory, but just my thoughts on what could be possible.

 

No matter what the real answer is, this is an interesting thread that I will follow. 8-)

[coka]

Because there are men throughout the world still willing to do it...?

 

coka

[LOWTYD]

Because there are men throughout the world still willing to do it...?

 

coka

 

I wish they would recruit my DH for 6 months and teach him a few things!:D

[johnritt]

I wish they would recruit my DH for 6 months and teach him a few things!:D

 

It will take longer than that.:)

[TrentS]

I've had both, it's been about equal I guess.

[WinnieinWA]

It will take longer than that.:)

 

LOL.. this made me giggle!! Sooo true!:p

[uneamie]

Some of these answers are "hysterical".

 

My opinion is.... I don't think they have to follow any "discrimination" laws since they are not registered in the US. That said, there is still a stigma about women holding jobs like this in other countries. These men are providing for families back home....most women are suppose to be home taking care of the children etc....so the men hold these jobs. I am sure there are exceptions but I can see that those are few and far between. Most of the crew seems to be male dominated.

[lonstermonster11]

This is not to be racist sexist or any of the above. I was in Borders today looking and Cruise books. Dont want to quote it because Im not sure what company produced it. It was titled Carribbean cruises or something like that. They were talking about there typical crew and hiring practices. The Captains tend to White caucasion and Norwegian or of scandanavian decent typically due to navigational education, Waitstaff tends to be asian due to friendly disposition, housekeeping tends to be latin american for strong efficient work ethic., Most CD are English, Dutch, or australia, Bilingual with strong verbal skills. They were also talking about the typical age. Usually retired, mid twenties ( not having familys at home, or Men that tend to have to leave theyre homes to make the money to send it back to their families. They also said turnover rate typically use to be 85% after 8 months on board, where they crew will, leave, switch ships, They also said because of this turnover that if you desire a cruise ship career that opportunities to advance can happen recently. This was not targeting any particular cruise line. Just thought it was interesting and thought Id share

[G'ma]

So here is something I was wondering. Why is it that most of the housekeeping staff onboard are male (at least in my experience)? All of my room stewards have indeed been stewards (male).

 

In the states and in most hotels I have been to abroad, the housekeeping staff is almost always (i think without exception) been mostly female.

 

So again the question is: in a field that is dominated by woman, why is most of the housekeeping staff on a ship male?

 

Many of these guys are married and have families back home they support.

 

Many are simply young fellas off on an adventure.

 

Some send money back to their regular familes.

 

All sorts of reasons.

 

There are some ships, I've heard, where women are also cabin attendants....but I've never seen one except on the European River cruises which are predominantly women.

[It'sJustMe]

Many of these guys are married and have families back home they support.

 

Many are simply young fellas off on an adventure.

 

Some send money back to their regular familes.

 

All sorts of reasons.

 

There are some ships' date=' I've heard, where women are also cabin attendants....but I've never seen one except on the European River cruises which are predominantly women.[/quote']

 

 

So I gather there are no women interested in adventure and sending money back home? Just curious.

[Azure Moon]

Interesting thread.

 

On our first cruise with Carnival, and our first cruise with NCLA, our cabin steward was a woman. Our first cruise with NCL, though, the cabin steward was a male.

[WinnieinWA]

So I gather there are no women interested in adventure and sending money back home? Just curious.

 

I had a woman steward on my one RCI cruise...actually she was a very young girl/woman. My cabin from the minute I entered was dirty and I left notes and she just didn't get it! No matter how nice I was she just didn't understand how to clean the mirrors in my cabin that had cola or something else like that just splattered and streaming down it. (Inside room had 2 full length mirrors ) It was from previous passengers. The bathroom floor was disgusting with lots of hair all over it and the carpet was filthy.

 

So, what to do? I just finally realized after day 3 that I'd never get my cabin cleaned and got over it. But......I won't be cruising RCI any time soon because of it. I could have contacted her superior but I know how important their jobs are to them and I wasn't willing to be the reason she lost her job.

 

So... I've only had one female steward and only that one problem. All of my NCL stewards have been fantastic and I always make sure I fill out a STYLE card for them. This small gesture gives them kudos and an occasional day off.

 

Happy sails

[terrymtex01]

I don't know if he made more money than cabin stewards, but I know on the Star Doug and I had a terrific waiter in Cagneys. We thought he was so good we asked for him every time we dined in there. He would tell us stories from back home, showed us pics of his wife and two kids, etc. He told us that he had been with NCL for 3.5 years, and this was going to be his last tour. Why? The soul purpose of him taking a job with NCL was so that his wife and two kids could move in with her parents for a few years while he worked for NCL. Working for NCL he had no living expenses to speak of for himself and his wifes parents had a small business where she could earn her keep with them. After 3.5 years he had earned and saved enough for them to buy a house and pay cash. That is why that was his last tour. He was going home and buying a house and starting their lives from there. Mission accomplished. He was such a great guy, I hope he and his family are doing well.

[Barb Nahoumi]

On some of my past cruises, I have noticed female crewmembers cleaning hallways and public rooms. Maybe these are entry-level positions.

 

Most of the other women were staffmembers or waitstaff. All of our cabinstewards were men.

 

All, men and women, did a great job. They work very hard.

 

Barb

[MrsLeo]

We have had both male and female stewards. Most of our stewards have been male though and we always try to get to know the peple who do such a good job to take care of us. The typical scenario is the men leave the home and go work on a ship to provide for their family. Although the female stewards we've had often had children back at home cared for by their parents, some of them also have spouses who also work on the ships. Most of our stewards have been from the Phillipines or Indonesia. On one of our cruises, our steward was almost finished with his last cruise ship contract and was very excited because he had saved enough money to go back home and open a shop with his wife, so he could be home with his children and watch them grow up.

 

I really enjoy getting to meet these people, I admire and respect the fact that they are willing to make these sacrifices to care for their families.

[snorklinbarb]

I've had a female cabin steward every time I've been on NCL but always as the asst. in a 2-person team, headed by a guy.:rolleyes:

 

This last cruise in June on the Jade, however, we had a full "sr. steward" named Gigi. She was terrific with a friendly outgoing personality. She had kids at home while she was away for months at a time. Loved her job though. We filled out a S.T.Y.L.E card for her and would love to meet her again.

 

Patricia on the Jade is Executive Housekeeper and there used to be another Exec. Housekeeper named Malka, so females can be in the very top spot in that department. Also a few HD's like Rosita.

[GORDONCHICK]

This is not to be racist sexist or any of the above. I was in Borders today looking and Cruise books. Dont want to quote it because Im not sure what company produced it. It was titled Carribbean cruises or something like that. They were talking about there typical crew and hiring practices. The Captains tend to White caucasion and Norwegian or of scandanavian decent typically due to navigational education, Waitstaff tends to be asian due to friendly disposition, housekeeping tends to be latin american for strong efficient work ethic., Most CD are English, Dutch, or australia, Bilingual with strong verbal skills. They were also talking about the typical age. Usually retired, mid twenties ( not having familys at home, or Men that tend to have to leave theyre homes to make the money to send it back to their families. They also said turnover rate typically use to be 85% after 8 months on board, where they crew will, leave, switch ships, They also said because of this turnover that if you desire a cruise ship career that opportunities to advance can happen recently. This was not targeting any particular cruise line. Just thought it was interesting and thought Id share

 

There may be some validity to this, with the exception of officers and the CD. Specific cruise lines lean to certain nationalities for these positions. This was explained to me by an NCL officer. He had been at one cruise line for a number of years, but wasn't getting promoted like he thought he should or like some of his friends were on other lines. He moved to NCL because their officers tended to be more from the area he was from (Austria) and surrounding areas but the other line tended to be more Brittish or Italian. I know Celebrity captains are Greek, and NCL captains are Norwegian (big duh). He offered insight into other lines, but I can't remember for sure, so I won't add the supposition.

[jasperdog]

So here is something I was wondering. Why is it that most of the housekeeping staff onboard are male (at least in my experience)? All of my room stewards have indeed been stewards (male).

 

In the states and in most hotels I have been to abroad, the housekeeping staff is almost always (i think without exception) been mostly female.

 

So again the question is: in a field that is dominated by woman, why is most of the housekeeping staff on a ship male?

 

 

Last year while on the Dawn the stewards were upgrading cabins and furnishing them with new mattresses which lined the hallway. It took 2 pretty heft stewards to remove the existing mattress and replace it. Not easy work to say the least.