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Mind the gap
At fi rst glance the travel and tourism industry appears to lead the way when it comes to gender equality, with the hotel sector, in particular, making a concerted effort to keep men and women on an equal footing. Despite these efforts, however, the number of female employees still drops precipitously the higher up the ladder you climb. Elly Earls speaks to hospitality consultant
Aradhana Khowala, Kerten Hospitality CEO Marloes Knippenburg, and Accor’s VP of diversity and inclusion, Anne-Sophie Beraud, to fi nd out why so few women are in top leadership positions and asks what changes are required to make further progress on gender diversity.
A
radhana Khowala hasn’t let being a woman stop her from rising to the top of her field. As well as owning a hospitality consultancy group, Aptamind, which provides advice to leaders in government and ultra-high network investors, she serves as chair of the advisory board for one of the world’s most ambitious tourism initiatives. When it is completed in 2030, the sprawling Red Sea Project in Saudi Arabia will comprise 50 brand new hotels. The ambitious initiative, part of a broader mission to diversify the kingdom’s heavy reliance on oil and gas, is set to have a 30% net positive environmental impact on its 28,000m2
site over the
next 20 years. Unfortunately, Khowala is the exception rather than the rule. A recent report produced by Aptamind, in concert with the World Tourism Forum Lucerne, showed that while the travel and tourism sector appears to be leading the way when it comes to gender diversity – with women representing 50%
68
of employees across the sector – there is a different story hidden in plain sight. In fact, female representation falls to 40% at mid-management level and 33% at senior executive level, above which there is a seemingly impenetrable glass ceiling between senior management and the c-suite. Around 19% of c-level roles are filled by women, while only 5% of firms have a female CEO and there are only six female chairs. The hotel sector performs better than the overall hospitality sector, due to a concerted effort by major hotel groups to promote more women to senior positions. However, the number of female employees still drops precipitously the higher up the career ladder you climb. In mid-level management, women represent 43% of the workforce, down to 32% at senior management level and 21% in the c-suite. Every major hotel chain has at least one female c-level executive, yet only one woman – Alison Brittain of Whitbread – sits at the helm.
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
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