TTG November 2018:
Jeannette Linfoot, board-level business advisor and everywoman in Travel Awards judge, explains:
It’s hard to believe that in 2018 – one hundred years since the first women got the right to vote in the UK – we are still talking about the lack of gender diversity at senior levels and in the boardroom.
Women make up nearly 70% of the workforce in the travel industry, yet there is a marked under-representation of women in senior positions: less than 40% of all managerial positions, less than 20% of general management roles and a meagre 5-8% of board positions.
And yet the recent Women in Hospitality, Travel & Leisure report showed that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have above-average financial returns. For every 10% increase in gender diversity, profit rose by 3.5%. The case is clear – businesses that have a good gender balance at all levels, perform better than those that don’t.