INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2023 

With this year's theme in mind, The Luxury Travel Bible is celebrating some of our favourite women from the world of Luxury Travel. In a traditionally male-dominated industry, these brilliant women are at the forefront of the travel industry and are leading experts, forces and voices in the world of luxury travel.  Here is how they are promoting equal opportunities not only within their own hotels and groups but also in the industry as a whole.

Do you think we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “people” in the hospitality industry? 
Absolutely, why would we not give women credit for their innovative ideas and approach? We should not take this away because of gender differences and, instead, should empower women for their creativity and successes.
When do you think we will we get beyond gender?  
Hopefully never. We should focus on celebrating genders and not denying them. 

www.escape-to-hiddenchic.com

When do you think we will we get beyond gender? 
When gender diversity gets normalized in the workplace and transformational leadership skills are recognized and celebrated (in the workplace). 

www.avanihotels.com

How are you encouraging women to rise within the hospitality industry?
By doing my job well, showing resilience and perseverance through challenging times, then I believe it would be evident to the team, both male and female that there will be equal opportunities at all levels. The works speak for itself.
Who has inspired you to become who you are today?
All my previous superiors, be it the GMs or DOFBs, have inspired me in different ways, to grow and become who I am today.

Do you think we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “people” in the hospitality industry?
For this question, allow me to repeat what I’ve answered previously.
At these days and age, I do not think the highlight is needed. My strong belief of having more women and female leaders in the hospitality workplace is part of a bigger picture wish for more diversity, which goes beyond gender. The best team, in my opinion, is made up of a vibrant mix of people – of different backgrounds, different upbringings, different beliefs, different ways of thinking - bringing all their different experiences and perspectives to work towards a common goal.

www.avanihotels.com

Do we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “People” in the hospitality industry? 
The overall gender division in our industry is relatively even, but women are still underrepresenting in executive teams and boards. There is still a clear gap between employees and managerial positions. Recent reports show that more female executive committee members reside in HR, giving a false view on the sector’s progress on gender diversity and the talent pipeline for CEO and top leadership roles. So yes, we still need to highlight women, show role models who are relatable and work on changing this imbalance.
When will we get beyond gender?
We will go beyond gender when we make meaningful and sustainable progress toward gender equality. If we don’t take action, we will not create the next generation of women leaders.

www.pobhotels.com

How are you encouraging women to rise within the hospitality industry? 
I don’t believe being a woman should be a barrier – in any industry - if you work  hard and have ambition you should succeed. I think there is a huge underutilised talent bank of women who have left work to raise families and are, unfortunately, not afforded the opportunity to come back to work as they may need more flexibility.  I don’t think this situation is just unique to the hospitality sector but across the board and it is something that we need to sort and give them women opportunity and flexibility needed. At SHC we are incredibly flexible with our teams and mums to give them the opportunity to come back to work.

Who has inspired you to become who you are today? 
My dad firstly - he always said you can achieve what ever you want, but you have to work hard and commit and then my first female GM - Robyn Leftwich, another who said you can do it, just work hard.
Do you think we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “people” in the hospitality industry?  
I do not believe we should have to highlight women as opposed to people. Of course, you still hear stories of possible gender bias but I am fortunate that I have never experienced an issue based on my gender - I worked for Firmdale for 18 years and now with the Sutton Hotel Collection where everyone is treated fairly.  Any other way and I also would not tolerate it.  I have always recruited based on the best person for the job and that should be the only basis. 

Do you think we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “people” in the hospitality industry?
To me whether you are a man or woman doesn’t matter, as in every career people will look at what you do, your performance and how you inspire people. In the past we have had a smaller female team in the hospitality space, especially at management level, therefore our aim has been to inspire women to join. However, I also believe women have an advantage in having an eye for detail as well as empathy and compassion.
When do you think we will we get beyond gender? 
Once we see gender equality. I do think that we are on the right track, and I’m so happy to see many more female GMs in the industry.

www.avanihotels.com

Who has inspired you to become who you are today?
Inspirations are endless, starting with my own mother, who volunteered some truly profound life lessons. 
Since, there have been many inspirational individuals I have had the luxury of coming across, professionally, this includes women like Anna Sebastian, Hannah-Sharman Cox and Siobhan Payne and the ground-breaking work they have done in the industry, to women like my very own mentor, who is a powerhouse in her own right. It would be wrong of me to claim that my inspiration draws solely from women, as there are people, men inclusive, who support, guide and are allies to those of us breaking the rules and building legacies within the industry. 
Do you think we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “people” in the hospitality industry? 
For as long as there is inequality in the industry, it is crucial that we continue to highlight, and work on diminishing these challenges. Whilst things have been positively evolving over the years, it is imperative that we continue to strive for progress. This means everyone needs to partake in challenging status quo. The only way change can be made is by paving the way for a better industry over all and not being complacent. 
It is still concerning that there are not enough female role models in positions of Chairperson or CEO, and More female Executive Committee members reside in HR rather than Commercial or Finance, giving a false view on the sector’s progress on gender diversity and the talent pipeline for CEO and top leadership roles which is likely to give a distorted view that certain positions are linked to personality and soft skills, whereas experience and decisiveness is still seen as more of masculine qualities.
When do you think we will we get beyond gender?
There must be huge development to reach a point where we deem that we have reached a level of equality whereby gender is no longer relevant. For as long as pay gaps continue to exist alongside unequal opportunities, it is a collective duty of all of us in the industry to move away from things that were once deemed ‘normal’. Celebrating women, within the industry, is merely a steppingstone in doing so, as well as inspiring those who are considering becoming part of the next generation of hospitality.

Who has inspired you to become who you are today? 
I sat next to English Hotelier, Alex Polizzi at a dinner in Edinburgh many, many years ago, and their family stories and the building of their brand inspired me.  In the early part of my career,  I attended many hotel courses run by Derek Taylor, an inspirational commercial hotel leader.   
Do you think we still have to highlight ‘women’, as opposed to “people” in the hospitality industry?  
Hospitality has always been an industry with a strong representation of women across all areas of the business, from chefs to front of house, back of house and management.  Personally, I don’t think we need to highlight ‘women’ as opposed to ‘people’. 
When do you think we will we get beyond gender?  
Collectively we can all do more to help create a fairer world and promote equal rights between genders – we are moving in the right direction, but we still need International Women’s Day to celebrate the achievements of women in our industry and to inspire the younger female generation to join the industry. However, whether it is a male or female employee, recognition should be given on the quality of their job, not their gender!