Inspiration
When I started Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel in 2019, I knew I was passionate about bringing women leaders together. Little did I know, how deeply immersed I would become in advocating for women in the hospitality and travel industry. Since then, I’ve become a member of many other women in hospitality groups and follow several news sources that report on the topic. There is so much good news out there, a plethora of resources and a lot of progress in elevating women in our profession.
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However, what I’ve also learned through this process, is that many structural barriers still remain. For instance, according to the 2023 Women in Hospitality report, 58% of the lodging and accommodation industry is made up of women, while only one in four chief level positions at hotel companies are held by women.
Many arguments are out there about why women are not making it to top roles at a more equitable rate. Fortunately, as found in this year’s Women in the Workplace, a lack of ambition is not one of them. According to this year’s study, women are more ambitious than before the pandemic - “roughly 8 in 10 women want to be promoted to the next level this year, compared to 7 in 10 in 2019” and equally ambitious as their male counterparts.
While our initiative cannot address structural barriers head on such as care-giving responsibilities and bias, it is our goal to provide the leadership inspiration to the women in our community to rise up and be successful in whatever role they choose - and live holistic, healthy and meaningful lives while doing it.
One of the things I take pride in with Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel is the partnership we create with our past and future participants. We listen to their needs and at the same time provide inspiring content drawing upon the leadership expertise of our coaching team. In our most recent survey, we asked participants what themes would be helpful to learn more about. Among the top were leading people and teams, change and crisis management, having difficult conversations, and well-being. We are excited about this feedback and on our way with narrowing down our agenda for 2024.
April 4th and 5th, 2024 will mark the 5th anniversary of our yearly Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel retreat. This year we are thrilled to travel to Old Saybrook, Connecticut to the Saybrook Resort & Marina for what will surely be a beautiful and memorable hospitality experience.
I want to thank our out-going board members Hannah de Maio and Sarah Howe as well as our continuing board members Paige Hinkson, Deborah Burns, Janet Eason, Heather Durant, Nancy Mendelson and Ariel Taschereau for their commitment to Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel. This year we are excited to welcome Robin Moncrieffe, Vickie Feldman de Falco and Jackie Kosiba as our newest board members.
We look forward to seeing you in April 2024!
-Rachel Vandenberg, Founder Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel
Many arguments are out there about why women are not making it to top roles at a more equitable rate. Fortunately, as found in this year’s Women in the Workplace, a lack of ambition is not one of them. According to this year’s study, women are more ambitious than before the pandemic - “roughly 8 in 10 women want to be promoted to the next level this year, compared to 7 in 10 in 2019” and equally ambitious as their male counterparts.
While our initiative cannot address structural barriers head on such as care-giving responsibilities and bias, it is our goal to provide the leadership inspiration to the women in our community to rise up and be successful in whatever role they choose - and live holistic, healthy and meaningful lives while doing it.
One of the things I take pride in with Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel is the partnership we create with our past and future participants. We listen to their needs and at the same time provide inspiring content drawing upon the leadership expertise of our coaching team. In our most recent survey, we asked participants what themes would be helpful to learn more about. Among the top were leading people and teams, change and crisis management, having difficult conversations, and well-being. We are excited about this feedback and on our way with narrowing down our agenda for 2024.
April 4th and 5th, 2024 will mark the 5th anniversary of our yearly Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel retreat. This year we are thrilled to travel to Old Saybrook, Connecticut to the Saybrook Resort & Marina for what will surely be a beautiful and memorable hospitality experience.
I want to thank our out-going board members Hannah de Maio and Sarah Howe as well as our continuing board members Paige Hinkson, Deborah Burns, Janet Eason, Heather Durant, Nancy Mendelson and Ariel Taschereau for their commitment to Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel. This year we are excited to welcome Robin Moncrieffe, Vickie Feldman de Falco and Jackie Kosiba as our newest board members.
We look forward to seeing you in April 2024!
-Rachel Vandenberg, Founder Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel