Boardwalk programme launched to support women in hospitality into board-level positions

A programme has been launched to support senior women in the hospitality industry into board-level positions.

To address the under-representation of women at the very top of hospitality businesses, leading hospitality figures Ann Elliott, Christine Martin and Shereen Ritchie have developed Boardwalk.

The trio have created a programme that will support 20 high potential individuals with tailored mentoring from industry leaders alongside online tutorials and access to a mentoring platform complete with content to support and inspire.

The aim of Boardwalk is to secure a minimum of 60% of each cohort their first board roles within three years of completing the programme.

Mentors include Catherine Roe from Elior, Emma Woods from Tortilla, Hawksmoor’s Will Beckett, Tom James from Bills and Marta Pogroszewska from Bread Holdings.

Launching the programme to assembled industry leaders at the Fable in London, Ann Elliott said: “This is all about getting female executives onto boards. So we set out to establish a best in class mentoring scheme.

“Our inspiration came from looking at the McKinsey & Company Women in the Workplace report which said the top quartile of businesses that employ women perform 27% better in terms on EBITDA than the bottom quartile of businesses. So there is a commercial reality about having women on your boards. We help businesses deliver better results.”

Christine Martin added that building inclusive leadership pipelines was not just the right thing to do, but a business imperative. 

She said: “Employees are more engaged, motivated, and productive in diverse environments. Companies that fail to invest in diverse leadership teams risk losing the next generation of top talent.”

The cost of the not-for-profit Boardwalk programme - from which none of the founders is taking a salary - is £1,800 to be paid by the sponsoring company.  

Martin said: “It’s a very modest amount of money in terms of the value they will get back but it does prove that the sponsoring company, the sponsoring board, and the mentee will take it more seriously.

“We chose just 20 mentees to keep the group tight and deliver for that cohort.”

Shereen Ritchie added: “Boardwalk is here to… unlock the full potential of the hospitality industry. The response we’ve had from across the sector has been phenomenal. Boardwalk is an idea whose time has come.”

Boardwalk is inviting applications for its inaugural cohort of 20 mentees. The closing date is 23 May 2025.