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Stronger together!! Eighteen organizations committed to advancing women in hospitality industry leadership have joined forces to maximize their efforts through collaboration and partnership. hertelier is proud to be part of this movement!
Spearheaded by hotel industry veteran Rachel Humphrey, the concept behind the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance is that by working together the groups will achieve more to advance women into executive leadership roles, which according to research by the Castell, An AHLA Foundation Project is still one woman for every ten men, despite women making up more than 57% of industry workers.
“There are so many organizations and leaders committed to this important initiative. By collaborating, we're able to advance all these efforts which will move the needle farther and faster for our industry,” Rachel Humphrey, founder of the Alliance said. “At a time when human resources and financial resources are at a premium, it is great to see these groups getting together and sharing with one another in an effort to maximize the impact of each and collectively of all.”
While each of these independent organizations will continue its work individually to advance women’s initiatives in the industry, together they formed the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance which will amplify all their programs, messaging, and initiatives advancing women in leadership.
Participating organizations include:
African Association of Women in Tourism and Hospitality - Amaka Amatokwu-Ndekwu, Daphne Spencer
ForWard: Women Advancing Hospitality® (American Hotel & Lodging Association/AHLA) - Katie Moore
Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) - Heather Carnes
Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) / Travel Industry Executive Women’s Network (TIEWN) - Fran Kiradjian, Ariela Kiradjian
Castell, An AHLA Foundation Project - Peggy Berg, Fern Kanter, Lan Elliott, Deb Cox
DEI Advisors - David Kong, Rachel Humphrey, Lan Elliott
FAB Workshop - Randi Weinstein
Forum on Leadership for Women by Red Roof - Marina MacDonald
WINiT by GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) - Dorothy Dowling
Hertelier - Emily Goldfischer
Howard University School of Business Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership - Ashli Johnson
International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) / Questex Diversity Council - Andrea Belfanti
Inspiring Women in Hospitality - Naureen Ahmed
Latino Hotel Association (LHA) - Lynette Montoya
Raizup - Rita Varga
She Has a Deal. (SHaD) including Fortuna's Table - Tracy Prigmore, Viviana Wilkins
Women Leading Travel & Hospitality - Hannah DeMaio
Women in Travel Thrive - Silvia Camarota, Rachel Humphrey
Women Own the Room by Wyndham - Lisa Checchio
In addition to these organizations, several individuals are also contributing their expertise and guidance, including Andrea Foster of Marcus Hotels & Resorts and Talene Staab of Hilton Hotels & Resorts.
“These remarkable women and men are having an incredible impact with strong initiatives that are rapidly advancing women in leadership and by working together we are sure the impact will be even greater,” Peggy Berg, Founder of Castell, an AHLA Foundation Project and founding member of the Alliance said.
The Alliance began conversations in November 2021, met in person at ALIS in January 2022, and has connected regularly since then. The effort took hold and grew into the platform and Alliance announced today. The organizations share their goals, upcoming efforts, educational resources, event information, and one another’s messaging to amplify the overall and collective mission of advancing women in hospitality.
“I look forward to seeing the tremendous impact these organizations, already successful in so many ways, will continue to have on advancing women in leadership in our industry as the result of their collaboration,” said Rachel.
We chatted with Rachel for a bit more inside scoop:
What inspired you to gather the group back in 2021, originally? I had recently retired and knew I wanted to stay committed in some fashion to advancing women in the hospitality industry. When I started reaching out to organizations doing great work in an effort to determine where to volunteer, I realized just how many organizations are leading in this area and wondered if there was an opportunity to unite them. Each was immediately eager to begin collaborating as soon as we began initial conversations. We started with six and have already expanded to 18.
What do you see as the immediate or big goals of the group? Right now we're busy sharing all of the initiatives and goals of each group and asking for and offering ways of amplifying each other and also of not duplicating efforts. It is incredibly empowering and energizing to see the collaboration and excitement.
If other women want to get involved in the alliance, how do they do that? I'm sure there are other organizations committed to advancing women in hospitality leadership, and we'd love to have them join us. We can be reached at whlalliance@gmail.com.