THE WOMEN IN Hospitality Leadership Alliance, a group of 32 organizations advancing women in hospitality, recently launched an interactive speaker directory with more than 700 senior-level women experts. The directory allows conference organizers to filter speakers by career background, title, company type, location, and other criteria, creating a shortlist for various topics and stages, WHLA said in a statement.
“Representation matters, and visibility is a key component of career advancement,” said Rachel Vandenberg, chair of the alliance podium committee and founder of Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel (an alliance member). “Despite many women having significant expertise in the hospitality industry, there are still fewer women on stage.”
Also, the Penn State School of Hospitality Management’s 2023 Women in Hospitality research report, funded by the AHLA Foundation, found that women held only 24 percent of podium spots at hotel investment conferences and 37 percent of main stage speaking spots, despite comprising 58 percent of the hospitality workforce.
The alliance podium committee worked with conference organizers to identify challenges in sourcing diverse voices, the statement said. One initiative involved finding thought leaders, challenging the idea that there aren’t enough women speakers and providing an industry-wide tool.
“In my experience, the women know the women!” said Lan Elliott, Acacia Hospitality LLC’s principal and interview host for alliance member DEI Advisors, who helped lead the directory effort. “We hope the directory leverages women’s ‘Rolodexes’ to create a quick and useful tool for conference organizers to connect with many more women leaders for their events.”
WHLA said conference organizers recognized the directory’s value.
“A big thank you to the alliance for leading this important initiative and creating the speaker directory,” said Lee Hunter, chairman of the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference. “This directory will be a wonderful resource for conference organizers as they plan, bringing new voices and fresh perspectives to conference stages.”
Several Indian American hoteliers spoke at the 35th Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, held March 19 to 22 at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.
“Every event benefits from having a greater diversity of thought and balance across its speaker lineup,” said Rachel Humphrey, WHLA’s founder. “Showcasing speakers with a wide range of perspectives on stage benefits attendees and ensures greater visibility for these leaders, which will advance overall representation in the hospitality industry. The Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance speaker directory, powered by RaizUp, ensures that no conference should ever lack representation of women speakers, regardless of the topic, stage, or location.”
In October, research commissioned by the AHLA Foundation and conducted by Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management showed increased representation of Black and women members on hotel industry boards. The data reveals that 67 percent of newly appointed directors are women, surpassing the 2022 Russell 3000 Index average, while 22 percent of new board members in 2022 were Black.
