New report identifies barriers to growth for women in hospitality

A report launched today has identified barriers to success faced by women in hospitality, including a “boys’ club” mentality, the prevalence of stereotypes and a lack of meaningful action from employers

The report, co-written by Jackie Moody-McNamara of social enterprise Brilliant Women, and John Higgins, research fellow at GameShift Consultancy, was sponsored by UKHospitality, and highlights the lack of female leadership in the sector.

The research outlines seven critical areas in need of support to boost the number of women in senior positions, with recommendations including tackling unintended bias, an emphasis on coaching and mentorship schemes, and promotion of “softer” leadership skills.

Moody-McNamara said: “What we really need is the sector bodies and key influences to get behind this research, accept where we are and recognise accelerated improvements are required, so everyone can benefit: companies, employees, investors and customers.”

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Hospitality has done some great work in recent years providing opportunities for women and shrinking the gender pay gap. There is, however, clearly much more we can be doing to get women into senior positions in the industry.

“This report shows that, despite some good work, there are clearly barriers to progression in the sector. We need to acknowledge there is an issue here and we need to act on it now. This report is a fantastic resource for ensuring better female representation at senior levels.”

Philippa Hardman, co-founder of GameShift, added: “Companies can’t properly manage risk or genuinely re-invent the future without a rich diversity of talent in their teams at every level, particularly in the executive team. We threw our effort behind this research because we want to see women flourishing in their careers, and we want to see their companies being better for it. This is excellent research, and we want it to be read in every boardroom.”

A full copy of the report, How to Unlock Potential and Create a Talented Pipeline of Senior Women Leaders, can be downloaded here.

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