How Women in the Travel Industry Are Tackling Gender Discrimination
Photo Credit: A Women in Travel Summit panel discussion on April 23, 2017 in Milwaukee, WI about getting more women into leadership roles resulted in much storytelling from female professionals in the audience. Pictured is moderator Laura Mandala, founder of Women in Travel & Tourism International. Women in Travel Summit
Skift Take
Grassroots activism is now the go-to tactic for achieving gender equality in the Trump-era travel industry. Lobbying male executives one-on-one isn’t working, so women are employing their collective influence, reminiscent of recent movements like the Women’s March in Washington, D.C.
Travel industry executives are overwhelmingly male, and these days, women aren’t just discussing the topic openly. Some are mobilizing for change.
Not unlike participants in the Women’s March, which took place in January in Washington, D.C., as well as cities around the world, many women in the Trump-era travel industry seem ready to actively take on gender discrimination.
Laura Mandala, founder of Women in Travel & Tourism International and managing director of Mandala Research, spoke on a panel at the Women in Travel Summit (WITS) in Milwaukee on April 23. She suggested that women take collective action, in part by using rallying cries like #grabyourpurse, which is associated with boycotting Trump-owned businesses.
“Every time we see an organization or an entity where women are not being treated equitably, we can point it out, we can send [the hashtag] out… We’re encouraging women: Grab your bag, work somewhere else, grab your bag, go travel somewhere else.
