May 2015 - Volume 16, Issue 2
Share via: Share this page
Polyu HTM
SHTM Academic Contributes to White Paper Addressing Talent Challenges Facing Women in Tourism

Researched and written by Professor Tom Baum of the University of Strathclyde and Dr Catherine Cheung of the SHTM, the White Paper "Women in Tourism and Hospitality: Unlocking the Potential in the Talent Pool" was launched at the Women in Tourism and Hospitality Forum in Hong Kong on 5 March 2015. The project was led by Diageo and developed by the Hospitality Industry Pipeline Coalition.

Mr Sam Fischer, President Greater China and Asia, Diageo, noted that two thirds of the global hospitality industry workforce is comprised of women. However, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation asserts that women in the sector are still underpaid, under-utilised, under-educated and under-represented. Moreover, it is known that gender diverse leadership teams deliver better financial performance for companies. The aim of the Coalition and White Paper is thus to raise awareness of the pressing talent issues facing the hospitality sector and lead the industry to address them through diversity.

Diageo's community programme "Plan W: Empowering Women through Learning", of which the Coalition is an integral part, aims to empower two million women across all socio-economic profiles by 2017, giving them opportunities to learn and develop skills to influence society and the economy.

As Professor Baum observed, tourism has become one of the major players in international commerce and is one of the main income sources for many developing countries. It also accounts for a significant proportion of economic activity in Asia, impacting and being impacted by a wide range of stakeholders who have vested interests in enabling the continued growth of the industry.

As detailed in the White Paper, from a global perspective women in hospitality:
  • Make up close to 70% of the total workforce
  • Undertake over 70% of all work in the informal hospitality sector
  • Hold less than 40% of all managerial and supervisory positions in the international hospitality industry
  • Hold less than 20% of general management roles
  • Are identified as owners of less than 20% of hospitality businesses and only around 10% of hotels worldwide
  • Make up between 5% and 8% of corporate board members of publically quoted hospitality businesses
These statistics show that women are still under-represented in senior positions and general management roles.

The White Paper concludes with wide-ranging recommendations directed at stakeholders in the private sector, government and employee organisations based largely on the business proposition for gender equality.

The White Paper can be download at www.diageoplanw.com/events.
This e-newsletter is issued by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
© All rights reserved.