In an announcement before the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), international travel and tourism leaders have pledged to work toward women’s equality and boost female representation in leadership roles.
The commitment came as WTTC launched its Women’s Initiative at its Global Summit in Cancun, Mexico, with the help of 18 Grand Slam singles title winner, Martina Navratilova. This led to the signing of the WTTC Cancun Women’s Declaration to support women.
The drive committed signatories to provide equal opportunities for women by removing barriers, ensuring fair treatment, and encouraging greater financial, professional and social independence. International signatories include Mexican Caribbean, Hilton, Carnival Corporation, Apple Leisure Group, Intrepid, Expedia, InterContinental Hotels Group, Barcelona Tourism, and Cruise Lines International Association.
For the private sector in the short term, the Women’s Initiative has two core elements: developing skills and creating formal sponsorship and mentorship programmes for young women in business.
Senior women leaders will also be empowered to become mentors and share their skills and experience with the next generation of female travel and tourism leaders.
Where possible, companies will also be asked to assign a senior executive or board member to be a sponsor for gender diversity and inclusion.
The private sector pledged to increase female representation in leadership positions by 30-50%. It also aims to increase the representation of women to board levels and C-suites by one-third by 2030.
There will also be commitment to reduce any gender pay gaps and implement gender diverse slate requirement for all open roles.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President and CEO, said: “As the first female President and CEO of WTTC, it is an honour to champion this important initiative. The pledge made today with the launch of the first Women’s Initiative in travel and tourism by a combination of the private, public and academic sectors to work towards women’s equality, marks a significant step forward.”
“Women have always had to outperform men, and whilst things are changing for the better, it is still a fight and a constant battle,” said Navratilova. “Change happens much quicker when it comes from the top. Companies would be more profitable if more women were in positions of power and boardrooms were less homogenous and reflected the diversity of their customers.”
