Honoring Women Leaders in Tourism on International Women’s Day
The 113th celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8 is meant to be a joyous occasion, yet 2024 marks another year that women remain woefully underrepresented in many industries and tourism is no exception.
The reality that women are seldom seen in C-suite positions isn’t news, but the fact that in 2024, when 54% of the people employed in tourism are women and the leadership roles are nearly all filled by men, should be.
Hotels, one of the largest sectors of the hospitality industry, have some of the most abysmal stats: 23 of the largest hotel chains worldwide have zero women at the top. This sobering stat is just the start.
Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) follow a similar trend. While the overwhelming majority of DMO teams are female, the CEO positions are almost always male.
Since 1911, International Women's Day has been a global holiday to celebrate women's achievements and further the mission for a more inclusive world. We could mark this day by lamenting the shocking state of the hospitality industry and its gender imbalance, but we would rather stay optimistic by honoring some of the most inspiring women at the top.
We admire these influential women not only on International Women's Day but every day. But, first, some facts and stats to remind us how far we've come and how far we have left to go for a more inclusive hospitality workforce.
There are zero female CEOs or chairs at the world’s largest hotel groups.
"The leisure industry is facing a major diversity disparity, with only 7% of the top spots held by women, a stark contrast to the 50-50 gender balance of the overall workforce," according to The numbers behind women in Leadership: Leisure, which surveyed 23 hotels companies, including Whitbread, which had a female CEO who departed in 2023.
Women have advanced in hospitality, but there are still too few women, particularly at the top.
The traveler accommodation workforce was 59.3% female in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Women now hold one in four of all chief-level positions at hotel companies, although these are skewed heavily toward roles in HR and Sales/Marketing," according to the sixth annual Women in Hospitality report by the School of Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania State University.
"Hotel companies have achieved parity between men and women at the director level," according to the annual report that examines women in hotel industry leadership. "Women are still significantly underrepresented at nearly all levels of leadership, with underrepresentation increasing as level increases."
Women in tourism earn less
While 54% of the people employed in tourism are women, they make 14.7% less than men, according to the World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) Global Report on Women in Tourism.
"Overall, they represent the majority of tourism workers, yet they are, by and large, relegated to lower-level positions in the sector. While women often own and run their own (usually smaller-scale) tourism enterprises as entrepreneurs, they are underrepresented in senior management positions. A gender pay gap exists in the tourism sector, as women earn less than men for equivalent work," according to the Global Report on Women in Tourism, which examined gender equality in tourism.
The majority of travelers are women
Some 64% of travelers worldwide are female. Closer to home, 32 million single American women went traveling at least once over the past year and 1 in 3 traveled five times or more.
Honoring the Women at the Top in Tourism
Despite the challenges facing women working in tourism, there are some superlative leaders inspiring current and future generations of women.
Amber Asher, CEO, Standard International
Amber Asher began her tenure at Standard International as General Counsel and Executive Vice President in 2011 and, a decade later, became CEO of the hotel chain that owns The Standard Hotels, Bunkhouse Hotels in California, Kentucky, Texas, and Mexico, and The Peri Hotel in Thailand.
Michelle Barnet, Chief Pineapple Officer, Staypineapple Hotels, Inc.
After working at Westin Hotels, Michelle Barnet leveraged her real estate and hospitality experience to purchase a trio of hotels in Seattle. One month before her fourth hotel was due to open, she didn't have an operator and founded her own management company, Pineapple Hospitality, in 2010. Her hospitality company was rebranded in 2023 as Staypineapple Hotels, Inc. and has expanded to hospitality licensing and management. Staypineapple runs a brand of upscale, dog-friendly boutique hotels in urban U.S. markets.
Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Visit California
Since 1998, Caroline Beteta has been the President and CEO of Visit California, the organization tasked with marketing California as a top travel destination. She has helped grow California's travel industry, bringing billions of dollars to The Golden State.
Katie Briscoe - CEO of MMGY Global
Katie Briscoe began working for MMGY Global at the end of 2011 and has climbed the ranks of the travel and hospitality marketing agency, becoming CEO at the end of 2022. In just over a decade, Briscoe worked her way up from Director of Client Services, Interactive to Vice-President, Client Services, EVP, Client Services, and President before becoming CEO of the largest travel marketing company in the world.
Sonia Cheng, CEO, Rosewood Hotel Group
Since 2008, Sonia Cheng has been CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group. A member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Cheng has led to the expansion of the privately-owned hotel group, which owns famed hotels like New York City's The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel. The hotel group has more than 40 properties in 19 countries.
Beth Santos, Founder & CEO, Wanderful
Entrepreneur Beth Santos has been combating the notion that travel is dangerous for women. She founded her lifestyle brand and media company Wanderful in 2013 and has been disrupting travel for women ever since. She's created a female travel community that helps travel companies tell stories that represent female travelers. And if that’s not enough, she just released her new book, Wander Woman, an empowering guide for women who want to travel the world solo.
Jody Vandergriff, Founder & CEO, Seeker
Jody Vandergriff is the founder and CEO at Seeker, the social network to find and share places to love. Founded in 2019, Seeker has grown to thousands of community contributed guides and has helped millions of travelers discover the world. Seeker's groundbreaking AI-powered Visitor Experience Platform, Explore, is an AI-powered Visitor Experience Platform, empowering tourism marketers and the visitors they serve with smart tools for trip planning and exploration. Jody has been named a Woman of Influence by Silicon Valley Business Journal, Woman of Excellence by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and one of the 50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley by Tech.co. Jody is unveiling Explore’s latest innovation at the eTourism Summit in Las Vegas this April.
International Women's Day serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for gender equality, particularly in industries like hospitality and tourism where women continue to face significant barriers to advancement. Despite the strides made over the years, the statistics remain stark, with women vastly underrepresented in leadership positions and earning less than their male counterparts.
However, amidst these challenges, there are shining examples of women who have broken barriers and risen to the top of their respective fields. From CEOs to founders, these trailblazing women are inspiring.
Our work towards a more inclusive and equitable future is far from over. We must continue to advocate for gender diversity in leadership, challenge stereotypes, and create opportunities for women at all levels of the hospitality and tourism industry.
On this International Women's Day, let’s recommit ourselves to gender equality and support women in our workplaces and communities.
