Last updated on November 7th, 2024
Featured image: For 30 years, JourneyWoman has advocated for safe and inclusive travel for women | Photo by YuriArcursPeopleimages on Envato
Diversity Award will be given out in December 2024 at inaugural dinner
by JourneyWoman staff
JourneyWoman has been nominated for Travel Unity’s “Community Impact” Award, recognizing three decades of advocacy for solo women and women over 50. The Travel Unity Applied DEI Award for Community Impact will be awarded at Travel Unity’s Inaugural Awards Dinner in New York City on December 10, 2024 to an individual or organization that has demonstrated commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and to driving positive social change within the community in which their organization operates.
Travel Unity is a 501(c)(3) focused on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the world of travel through individual and community empowerment. Its mission is to connect community groups and individuals with travel, cultural, and educational experiences to promote personal and professional growth. JourneyWoman is a founding media member.
“While this is quite an honour to be included, I have to credit JourneyWoman founder Evelyn Hannon, our readers, community, partners and Women’s Advisory Council for ensuring that JourneyWoman is seen as a safe, inclusive place for all since 1994,” says Carolyn Ray, CEO. “We’re thrilled to see some of our allies and friends included in this list, including Tonya Fitzpatrick of World Footprints, who is on our Women’s Travel Advisory Council, our partner Vincie Ho from Rise Travel Institute, and Cory Lee from Curb Free With Cory Lee, who is inspiring so many people to travel in wheelchairs.”
Travel Unity is inviting votes for the Awards at travelunity.org/awards.
JourneyWoman’s Diversity initiatives
Diverse editorial team: We expanded our editorial team to be more representative of our readers, including a dedicated accessible solo travel writer, Tanzila Khan, and Black and LGBTQ+ writers. We feature women over 50 in our editorial, which focuses on topics such as ageism in travel, accessibility, and LGBTQ+ travel. Our Women in Travel series profiles women in the tourism industry creating meaningful change, tackling gender equity, sustainable tourism, Indigenous wisdom and lesbian travel.
Women Over 50 Resource Centre: Knowing that 70% of women over 50 feel ignored or undervalued by the travel industry, we created a resource centre for Women over 50 that includes our own data and credible industry statistics about the influence of women over 50 in travel.
Global study on Women Over 50 in Travel: We launched our third global study on women over 50 in October 2024, which includes questions about mobility and accessibility, inclusive travel and the needs of older women.
Women’s Travel Directory: Not only do we host the world’s only Women’s Travel Directory, we have made a concerted effort to include accessible, Indigenous and Lesbian businesses including partnerships with AccessibleGo, Wheel the World and hundreds of women-owned businesses.
Funding underserved communities: JourneyWoman is supporting wmnsWork, a tourism accelerator for startup businesses in the travel industry, with a scholarship to empower women and non-binary folks who are LGBTQ+ and/or Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, who face additional barriers to success.
Women’s Speaker’s Bureau: In August 2023, JourneyWoman established the travel industry’s first Women’s Speaker’s Bureau for Women 50+ as a resource for event organizers to find women 50+ for webinars, panels and conferences. To date, over 80 women have joined, and many have found paid speaking engagements.
JourneyWoman Awards for Women Over 50: In March 2024, JourneyWoman launched the JourneyWoman Awards for Women Over 50 in travel to create role models for older women. There are four categories, including the Solo Travel Wisdom Award for solo women 50+, the Purpose-Driven Entrepreneur Award for the leader of a woman-owned or led travel business who is over 50, and the Innovation in Women’s Hospitality Award for a woman-owned business over 50. All of the finalists are diverse women. The awards were given out on October 2024.
Travel Book Featuring Women Over 50: In November 2024, JourneyWoman is publishing a book in partnership with Lola Akinmade to shift stereotypes about age. In addition to 30 well-known female role models, the book includes quotes from the JourneyWoman readers.
Soul of Travel Podcast: In 2023, we invited the award-winning “Soul of Travel” podcast, in partnership with Christine Winebrenner Irick, to join our family and expand our editorial presence. Soul of Travel features diverse women breaking barriers in the travel industry.
JourneyWoman CEO Carolyn Ray joined a Women Over 50 panel at IWTFF in London in June 2024 / Credit Carolyn Ray
“The Rise of the 50+ Solo Woman Traveller” included JourneyWoman research / Credit Adventure.com
JourneyWoman Award Winner Joy Fox, 89, profiled in BBC Travel in 2024 / Credit BBC Travel
Congratulations to all the nominees in this category
Voting is ongoing and can be done at travelunity.org/awards. Find more information about the Inaugural Awards Dinner in New York City on December 10 at travelunity.org/gala.
Cory Lee shares his accessible travel adventures on his blog, CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com.
Five Star Tours and their “Tours for a Cause,” partner with diverse communities to create positive, lasting impacts.
John Beuchert founded Away Together, providing volunteer opportunities that allow travelers to immerse in local culture and ensure equal access for all.
JourneyWoman as the world’s first website for solo women travelers.
Laurel-Jones County Black History Museum and Arts’ preservation of African American history and fostering cultural education and inclusion.
Find more information about the Inaugural Awards Dinner in New York City on December 10 at travelunity.org/gala.
Meg Ten Eyck and EveryQueer offers affirming travel resources for queer women, transgender, and nonbinary people for 14 years.
RISE Travel Institute focuses on advancing DEI in travel, ensuring travelers understand tourism’s impact on local communities.
Dr. Srimanta Ray’s advocacy of DEI in Tripura and leadership in working to support one of India’s most underserved regions.
Stacey Toussaint-Murdock’s Inside Out Tours focuses on contributions of women, African Americans, Asian Americans, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities.
Stephanie Sheehy founded of La Inspiración and the Red Costarricense de Turismo Accesible to promote DEI in the travel and fashion industries.
About JourneyWoman
Founded in 1994, JourneyWoman™ is the world’s first solo female travel resource and one of the most trusted women’s travel brands in the world. JourneyWoman hosts the world’s largest Women’s Travel Directory as a free service to women, providing hundreds of curated and vetted women-friendly tours, retreats, small ships and safe places to stay while supporting small tourism businesses around the world. To elevate women’s voices, the award-winning Soul of Travel Podcast joined JourneyWoman in 2023. JourneyWoman also launched the travel industry’s first Women’s Speaker’s Bureau to share wisdom from women over 50 and accelerate diversity and the JourneyWoman Awards for Women Over 50. To learn more, visit Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. JourneyWoman is a registered trademark of Journeywoman Enterprises Inc.
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