Beginner’s Guide to Gender-Inclusive Strategies for Tourism Businesses

All Regions
27 Nov 24

Wednesday November 27, 2024 | 09:00AM – 10:00AM (ET) / 15:00 - 16:00 (CET) | Language: English

Co-organized by

UN Tourism and UN Women are organizing and introductory online seminar for tourism businesses on how to develop and implement a gender-inclusive business strategy.

The benefits of advancing gender equality for private sector enterprises are well documented. When businesses have inclusive policies and an inclusive culture they are 63% more likely to have increased profitability and productivity, 60% more able to attract and retain talent and 58% more likely to have an enhanced company reputation. Businesses with gender-balanced boards are almost 20% more likely to have enhanced business outcomes, while closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by 20%.

The Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) are a set of Principles offering guidance to business on how to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. Established by UN Women and UN Global Compact, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women's empowerment. Currently, the WEPs have been endorsed by over 10,000 CEOs in more than 190 countries, of which 250 are in the travel, lodging and amusement industry.

In the tourism sector, businesses tend to have limited awareness of how to advance gender equality and integrate it in their operations and future planning. In addition, the experience of UN Tourism's flagship 'Centre Stage' capacity building programme for gender equality in tourism has revealed an urgent need to provide more tools and guidance on gender-inclusive strategies for tourism businesses.

UN Tourism and UN Women, together with the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, published in 2022 the Gender-inclusive Strategy for Tourism Businesses intended to assist businesses achieve effective strategies to promote gender equality across their operations.

This virtual seminar is a continuation of this work and will contribute to an increased understanding and implementation of gender-inclusive strategies in tourism businesses. It will address important questions including:

What is a gender-inclusive business strategy and why do we need it in tourism?
How can I develop and implement a strategy?
What support + resources are available for tourism businesses to do this?

Objectives:

Increase awareness of gender-inclusive strategies and corporate policies amongst tourism businesses;
Facilitate tourism businesses' work in reducing gender-inequalities in a systematic fashion.
Share main lessons learned in designing gender-inclusive strategies in tourism, focusing on the specificities of the sector and the different challenges this can pose;
Share practices and tools that can help to ensure corporate policies and strategies are designed to respond to the specific needs of women, girls, men and boys.
Increase awareness of the Women's Empowerment Principles and what it means to be a WEPs signatory.

Speakers

Anna Fälth is the Global Head of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) – a set of principles offering guidance to business on how to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. Anna leads industry-specific groups and provides advice to companies on how to advance on the WEPs journey – from setting the direction, to executing actions and assessing the results.
An economist, Anna has more than 25 years of experience as economic advisor within the UN system, including UNCTAD, UN-DESA, UNDP and UN Women, and the European Commission. She has a MSc in Economics from Lund University, Sweden, and a Masters in Law and Economic from Hamburg University, Germany.

Felisa is the CEO of Travel Pharma: a travel company that has been awarded a Women’s Empowerment Award by ILO, the European Union and UN Women in recognition of its corporate policies implemented for equity, women and LGBTIQ+ inclusion. Founder of EsenciAr Tours developed to promote regional economies focused on indigenous and rural women, youth and children, through comprehensive accompaniment and the joint development of local sustainable tourism proposals.

Some of Felisa’s achievements and current roles include: a postgraduate degree in Sustainable Tourism and Social Responsibility and Resilience, a diploma in Gender and LGBTIQ+ Labor Management from the Madrid Complutense University and Rey Juan Carlos University. She is the G100 Wings Alliances & Alumni Argentina Country Chair, FAEVYT (Argentine Federation of Tourism Companies) Equity Coordinator, AFEET Argentina board member (Women´s tourism executives association) and FIASEET member. She is a member of the Gender group at the Argentine Chamber of Tourism and is part of the private sector group gathered by UN Women Regional LATAM and Caribbean in Panama 2022 and the LATAM meeting of the United Nations High Commissioner for Business and Human Rights (OHCHR), in Santiago de Chile 2023.

Layali is a highly accomplished woman who has made significant contributions to the tourism and hospitality industry in Jordan. She has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and has worked tirelessly to promote women's empowerment, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.

Layali has been with Movenpick Hotels & Resorts for 23 years, where she successfully positioned the six properties of the company as a leading brand committed to the UN Women Empowerment Principles for Private Sectors, UN Code of Ethics Tourism Sustainability, and UN Global Compact. Her efforts in promoting women's empowerment have earned the company the gold award for the Best Place For Working Women and the Women Pioneering Awards.

Layali has served as the president of Jordan Woman Forum for ten years and was also elected as the president of the Business and Professional Women Association in Jordan. Layali was the first female president in Rotary Jordan and also the first to be the vice president of the Jordan Environment Association.

Born and raised in Latvia, Ance has spent the last 15 years travelling and working around the world – as a volunteer in the Canadian Arctic, leading tours in Central Europe and Balkans, spending significant time contracting hotels in Europe and working in reservations and customer service in Morocco. Ance joined Intrepid Travel as a tour leader for Europe and has since built her career to become first the Contracting Manager for Europe, then the Destination Product Manager for East Europe, Iceland, and Caucasus and now is leading Intrepid Travel`s East Europe team as General Manager.

Ance has an in-depth understanding of the travel industry. Her main skill set is in developing sustainable, innovative and experience rich itineraries that offer authentic adventures as well as delivering operational excellence in more than 15 countries.

Moderator

Ben is a senior project specialist responsible for gender equality initiatives in UN Tourism’s Ethics Culture and Social Responsibility department. Ben coordinated the Global Report on Women in Tourism, Second Edition and is currently the project manager of the Centre Stage programme. Ben has extensive experience working on equality projects and initiatives affecting a range of disadvantaged groups. Before joining UN Tourism, Ben worked at the European Parliament.