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New scheme aims to shatter industry glass ceiling
The creation of a mentoring scheme to help women in the UK’s travel industry break through the so-called ‘glass ceiling’ will be discussed at a Tourism Society meeting later this month.
It is believed a mentoring programme – where women who have already made it to the higher echelons of the industry give one-to-one advice and guidance to others lower down in the ranks – could prove a real help for females battling to win promotion at work.
It follows research undertaken for the Tourism Society earlier this year which shows that 80% of women believe men are more likely to hold top tourism jobs. Over half (52%) of women surveyed said they thought poor mentoring was one reason why women were not climbing to the top of the career ladder.
Alessandra Alonso, who is a Tourism Society member and is senior industry manager at KPMG’s Travel, Leisure and Tourism practice, compiled the research. She told TravelMole that she believes a mentoring scheme could make a real difference for women in the industry. Ms Alonso explained that a lot of women miss out on valuable networking opportunities because they have family commitments or see them “as a waste of time” and mentoring could be one way of redressing the balance.
Ms Alonso told TravelMole: “If you are mentored by someone they act as a positive role model. They could give you very practical advice about how you speak to a male boss about something or prove to male colleagues that you can do it. That sort of thing comes with experience.”
She said the meeting would try to look at how the mentoring scheme could work in practice. “It’s a case of trying to match people and personalities. It’s a very personal thing. Some people might only need to communicate by email, others might need face-to-face contact.”
Anyone interested in attending the meeting which takes place at The Italian State Tourist Office in London on September 23 should email Adrian Clark at the Tourism Society at [email protected].
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