17 June 2020 – Women in Travel (CIC), the social enterprise dedicated to empowering women through employability and entrepreneurship in the travel and hospitality industry, has announced the launch of BAME Women in Travel’s Corporate Partnerships.

The new Corporate Partnership scheme will see BAME Women in Travel work with committed organisations to create tailored solutions that increase the level of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) inclusion in the workplace. Corporate Partners will be guided by BAME Women in Travel to accomplish the following four key strategic goals, which support BAME Women in Travel’s core purpose of addressing racial inequality as a societal, moral and business issue:

  • Setting tangible targets to increase BAME representation in the travel and hospitality industry
  • Breaking the BAME glass ceiling by boosting the profile of existing industry employees
  • Raising the profile of existing BAME Women in Travel through ‘Breakthrough to Excellence’ spotlights and collaborative events
  • Establishing best practice guidelines and supporting cross sector Women in Travel networks and interest groups to galvanise change in matters such as ethnicity pay gaps and talent pipelines

As well as being provided with bespoke guidance to reach these objectives, BAME Women in Travel’s Corporate Partners will also benefit from educational ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions and receive regular insights and updates from other Corporate Partners via a quarterly e-newsletter. Each Corporate Partner will also be encouraged to solidify their commitment to the cause by displaying a BAME Women in Travel Supporter logo on their website and in other communication documents. For pricing and to learn more about BAME Women in Travel’s Corporate Partnerships contact Jamie-Lee Abtar at [email protected].

The Corporate Partnerships have been launched as part of BAME Women in Travel’s Vision 2023 plan, which seeks to ensure that BAME Women in the travel industry have a fair and equal opportunity to be hired, retained and promoted. The three-year plan is being spearheaded by BAME Women in Travel’s Executive Director Jamie-Lee Abtar, whose experience includes 10 years in the travel sector, including at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

Speaking about her involvement with BAME Women in Travel, Jamie-Lee Abtar, Executive Director, said: “The Black Lives Matter movement has shone a global spotlight on racial injustice and leaders in organisations are now being asked to step up and commit to racial and social justice and equality in their companies. Our new BAME Women in Travel corporate partnership scheme is a great place to start and we look forward to working with committed organisations in the travel industry. For BAME Women in Travel like myself, it’s not about tokenism, but about being given a fair and equal opportunity because we are talented, smart and capable of driving the growth and success of the UK travel industry.”

Alessandra Alonso, the Founder of Women in Travel (CIC) added: “Our new Corporate Partnerships allow travel brands to collaborate and address shared challenges, with the aim to refocus energy and commitment in UK workforces to drive change and ensure that travel businesses attract, recruit, retain and develop BAME talent.”

For pricing and to learn more about BAME Women in Travel’s Corporate Partnerships contact Jamie-Lee Abtar at [email protected].

For more information about Women in Travel, visit www.womenintravelcic.com.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS
Image Captions:
Image 1: Jamie-Lee Abtar, Executive Director of BAME Women in Travel.
Image 2: BAME Women in Travel logo.
Image 3: Alessandra Alonso, Founder of Women in Travel (CIC).

About Women in Travel
Women in Travel (CIC) started life as a gender-focused platform at World Travel Market 2014 in London. Growing successfully from then onwards, in 2017 it was incorporated as a social enterprise dedicated to empowering women through employability and entrepreneurship in Travel Tourism and Hospitality. Its vision is to become a catalyst for sustainability by placing women at the heart of an industry which is inherently attractive to females and growing at a fast pace. It is the brain-child of Alessandra Alonso, who has been recognised as a trailblazer when it comes to gender diversity in the industry and who has supported women in maximising their opportunity in the travel, tourism and hospitality (TTH) industry for well over a decade. Women in Travel partners with employers and charities to provide the first Women Returners service through which the industry can access a pool of marginalised but often highly skilled women who are eager to get back to work. Women in Travel also runs entrepreneurship focused events, mentoring and networking supporting start up and early stage female entrepreneurs and those wanting to start a business, particularly of BAME background. In January 2020, Women in Travel hosted the first International Women in Travel & Tourism Forum in Iceland, where Iceland’s First Lady was the keynote speaker.

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