Inspire Inclusion – International Women’s Day 2024

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’, focusing on a collective push to forge a more inclusive world for women. As an industry, we have made tremendous strides to ensure better opportunities and representation for women at all levels. After all, inclusivity is what makes hospitality such a vibrant and exciting industry, whether that’s to work in or enjoy as a guest.

As a sector, we have worked diligently to create and foster environments that empower women, and there’s much to be proud of. Initiatives such as mentorship programmes, educational workshops, and advocacy campaigns have been embedded across the sector and individual businesses have worked to lay a foundation for women to feel seen and empowered in the workforce.

We have seen organisations adapting to workplace flexibility, with tailored approaches to schedules and career paths introduced, making it easier for employees to balance work and family commitments. Today, a third of all board positions in the hospitality sector are held by women, which is significant progress and testimony to the way the sector has recognised its issues and worked collectively to improve this.

However, there is still work to be done.

While all these milestone efforts are important for female progression in the sector, what’s clear is the work that lies ahead to truly champion inclusion. Despite women having a far greater representation in senior positions in the workplace, certainly compared to when I was starting out, there still exists a perception that an executive role “isn’t for me”. We need to recognise that women, especially those belonging to underrepresented groups, continue to face barriers when seeking leadership roles, and we must continue pushing for diverse representation in leadership and decision-making positions.

There’s still a job to be done when it comes to mentoring women, not just in hospitality but across all industries. Building lasting connections with inspirational people is, I believe, key to generating success, so being able to connect with other women who have been there and done it is a truly invaluable resource that will help other women take the next step for them in their careers.

The sector also needs to get much better at promoting from a more diverse pool. If the industry wants to provide the best guest experiences possible to as many customers as possible, then we need to recruit and retain the diverse teams that can deliver them. Equally, we need to celebrate our teams. Championing inclusion means we should also be providing people with flexible working, accessible employment and the education needed to excel in their roles and to deliver the best guest experiences.

It’s therefore crucial that this level of representation is sustained and that everyone is given the chance to thrive, whether that’s in the boardroom, at an operational level, or in a front- or back-of-house role. By championing inclusion, we can harness the full potential of diverse perspectives, overcome obstacles together, leading to better decision-making and innovation.

We have collectively made great progress but there is no escaping the fact that we need to keep up the momentum and, if anything, work even harder. We have proven time and again that we can make meaningful change when we work together, so we have no excuse. I am confident we can not only inspire inclusion but continue to embed it at the core of our industry, making it stronger and more united as a result.