Number of female CEOs of major plc hotel chains worldwide: zero.
Females are still massively underrepresented at the top levels of the hotel industry despite making up half the world’s population and the general work force in hospitality. Women rarely hold senior leadership positions, not to mention CEO or chair spots – still a sad reality, in the year 2023.
The latest report 'The numbers behind women in leadership' by Aptamind Partners (in cooperation with WTTC)* reveals a tremendous gender imbalance in the leisure industry at large, with only seven per cent of all CEO and chair positions held by women. More specifically, despite a marginal growth in hotel senior management (26 per cent), the study identified one female CEO at the world’s major hotel groups (Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels International, Radisson Hotel Group, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, Accor, and others), which in the meantime has dropped to zero. Alison Brittain, who was the sole female representative at a publicly listed hotel company, retired from her position as CEO of the British hotel firm Whitbread PLC in January 2023, thus leaving the 23 largest hotel chains worldwide without any woman at the very top.
For reference, as of March 2023, women represented 15 per cent of CEOs in all US Fortune 500 companies: 74 females vs. 426 males, to be exact. However, the hotel sector fails to get even close to that incredibly low mark.
This major diversity disparity in leadership positions is in stark contrast to the overall workforce, and the glass ceiling still seems impenetrable and, according to Gloria Guevara, WTTC president and CEO, the pandemic only made it worse: “Globally, women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic which has exacerbated the pay gap, the opportunity gap and the shocking lack of senior positions and leadership roles across the travel and tourism sector.”
The very fact that employees, as well as the target group – travellers and holidaymakers – consist equally of men and women, one cannot help but wonder why boards and executive management would not want a more equal gender representation, and generally more diversity in leading positions of their companies?
“The fact that women are still not equally represented at the top positions in global corporations is short-sighted and not appropriate for modern times. This cannot possibly continue in listed companies,” said Michaela Reitterer, former president of the Austrian Hoteliers Association and owner of Boutiquehotel Stadthalle in Vienna.
In pretty much all business sectors, women still face multiple challenges when trying to reach the top of the ranks: gender bias, unequal pay and unequal distribution of (child)care work being the most prominent examples. Structural and social discrimination against women remains the basis of gender inequality in all areas of society. How can it be changed?
The authors of the Aptamind study have identified six key steps, to advance the proportion of women in leadership:
At least some hotel chains seem to have stopped turning a blind eye to gender inequality and, more importantly, started to act.
One example is the Women’s initiative, introduced in 2021 and signed by key players IHG Hotels & Resorts and Hilton. It includes a series of goals to improve gender equality in both the public and private sector, such as:
IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s largest international hotel groups, has also implemented 'Journey to Tomorrow', a ten-year plan for responsible business and “commitment to achieving gender balance in corporate and hotel leadership teams by 2030, driving gender balance and a doubling of under-represented groups across leadership”.
DEI-measures (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) include focusing on how to attract more women into functions that have been historically less gender balanced; identifying and removing potential barriers to increase the number of female managers, and a commitment to help all parents and carers to find the right work/life balance by providing market-specific family policies.
Another example is Wyndham‘s 'Women Own the Room' program, launched in early 2022. It targets women’s advancement in hotel ownership and is designed to advance and empower women entrepreneurs to break through the predominantly male-dominated hotel industry. Lisa Checchio, chief marketing officer at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, stated: “Representation matters. Opening doors for traditionally underrepresented owners unlocks potential and possibility, and paves the way for others to follow.”
The recent appointment of Katerina Giannouka as new Chief Executive Officer of Jumeirah Group in December 2022, shows that it can be done differently. Jumeirah Group, part of Dubai Holding, is a luxury hotel company operating a portfolio of 26 luxury properties with 6,500 rooms in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, and is now leading by example for more gender equality on the executive level of international hotel chains.
The percentage of female leaders in smaller, privately-owned hotels and family businesses is generally much higher than in the corporate world of international hotel groups. Women who do not want to compromise on family and children for a career, turn to local and small-scale enterprises instead.
Michaela Reitterer believes that: “Perhaps women feel more comfortable there and can act in a more networked and versatile manner. I think corporations still don’t think as much about family and kids and work-life balance for their general managers and leaders.” The successful entrepreneur is calling for better support for families from the corporate hotel industry because “once kids are involved, frequent travelling, re-locations to new countries (and thus school changes) might be one of the major obstructions for women with kids to take on leading roles in the hotel industry”.
Apparently even without children, females rarely make it into the boys’ club at the top of hospitality businesses. For most of their male counterparts, however, children and/or a family seem to be no obstacle for advancement to top level positions. Strange, isn‘t it?
A top-level career AND having children (if desired) should be possible for all genders, not exclusively males. It is the responsibility of corporations to provide appropriate structures, question their bias for promotions and, of course, each and every one of us to strive for complete equality in partnerships and society at large in order to finally reach full equality.
The Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by UN Member States in 2015, set a 2030 deadline for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. But with less than ten years left to meet that elementary goal, the world is still not on track. On the contrary, progress on gender equality has not only failed to move forward but has begun to reverse. What a disgrace.
On a positive note, some global hotel chains have reached gender parity in the general workforce (e.g. IHG Hotels & Resorts: 58% female) and have made good progress on leadership levels (e.g. IHG Hotels & Resorts Vice President level and above: 34%, including a female chairperson). One of the major barriers to improving gender diversity has been the lack of insightful and robust data. Equality initiatives, diversity publications and reports are fundamental for progress. There is hope, because public interest is the basis for change.
* The data set of the report (numbers as of Dec 31, 2021) included 23 of the world’s largest publicly traded hotel companies, and was derived from data published in annual reports, sustainability reports, DEI and ESG reports.
