A Brief Q&A With Alessandra on Women in Tourism

What is the state of women in tourism now and what is your expectation for when travel resumes? What skills will we need the most? 

Women are the backbone of industry and represent 60% or so of the workforce worldwide. As such they have been highly impacted by the pandemic also because they tend to cluster at lower level in more precarious jobs. Yet, when it comes to hosting communities and entrepreneurship women are critical to the industry restarting. We need to make it easier for women to be part of the solution by including them in all decision-making processes.

 You’re called a Trailblazer – someone who thinks tourism needs a ‘radical rethink’, that there are old business norms – what is one thing you think needs to change?

I think Covid has shown us that flexibility can be built into most working environments, so I would encourage all companies to do that to enable more women to fully contribute to the economy. We also need to include all women and all individuals into the travel and tourism narrative, at every level. Diversity sits at the core of this industry, yet it is seldom reflected into our companies, promotional messages and the way staff bring themselves to work.

What has the biggest barrier you’ve had to break been? What gave you the courage to challenge the status quo?

The first decade of my career was mainly in corporate. I was often the only woman in my late 20’s or early 30’s in senior meetings and my competencies were often doubted; I was regularly asked where the manager was and generally seen as the note taker!  This eventually led me to co-found the first gender consultancy in Tourism, Shine. However, obstacles and resistance did not go away, often it was the women who would not want to admit there was a ‘problem’ in industry. Things are a bit better now, but the work is not over by all means and if anything it has expanded to include more groups!

 How can other women who may not be in the industry help your efforts?

We can support each other in many ways…from amplifying the message; to getting involved with mentoring; to making referrals, introduction and opening up their network…allyship is the way forward!

What woman influenced you most growing up? What lesson did you learn from her?

Probably more than one, however, if I had to mention one specifically, it would probably be  Anita Roddick, the founder of Body Shop. I heard her speaking about her mission and was really influenced about what she said was the opportunity to do good, to impact the world in a positive way via trade and business. It was the mid-1990’s and I had never heard anyone talking like this before. It stayed with me forever and gave me a different outlook in business ever since.