From Sri Lanka to Tanzania: the pioneering hotels run entirely by women

Employees at the Amba Yaalu, the first hotel in Sri Lanka with an all-female staff. Photograph: Handout

It took Jeewanthi Adhikari a decade to get the promotion she wanted working in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. For years, she watched as men with less experience were promoted before her.

“Even if I got to interview,” says Adhikari, 42, “the interviewer would be judging me, asking if I might get married, or have children and then suggesting family commitments would take over.”