Influential members of the Russia & CIS hospitality industry to meet in Sochi to discuss Women Leaders in the industry.
LONDON – The most salient challenges affecting women’s advancement in the hospitality industry have shifted from traditional workplace barriers to self-imposed barriers, according to a white paper recently published by leading hospitality human capital advisory firm HVS Executive Search.
A year-long survey of 100 executive men and women in the hospitality industry (including 15 women holding top executive level positions around the world) has determined that barriers to women’s advancement are undergoing a shift; Personal priorities hold greater influence over advancement opportunities for women in this industry, than do traditional workplace barriers. This indicates a shift away from the traditional view of the “Glass Ceiling.”
A small group of top influencers of the Russia & CIS hospitality industry will meet next week to discuss the issues surrounding this ‘Glass Ceiling’ in the industry for women in Russia & CIS. Tatiana Veller, Managing Director Russia & CIS for HVS Global Hospitality Services, will lead the round table discussion at the Russia & CIS Hotel Investment Conference taking place in Sochi ahead of the Winter Olympic Games.
“We will discuss whether these findings hold true for our region, and define the portrait of a successful woman-leader in Russia & CIS Hospitality industry” commented Veller, “we will talk about whether there is a lack of female leadership, and the pros and cons of having more women in the C-suite of hospitality companies.”
Industry leaders joining the session in Sochi next week include Vladimir Poddubko, A.N.D. Corporation; Alexis Delaroff, ACCOR; LiudmilaKoudryavtseva, Baltic Travel Company; Petr Chitipakhovyan, CH-Group; Dejan Djordjevic, ESTA Holding; Angelika Norman, EY; Polina Kondratenko, Sberbank; Marina Usenko, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Tom Flanagan, The Rezidor Hotel Group.
According to the white paper:
- 60% of the men and women surveyed indicated that they were not interested in reaching a “top spot” in their organization. Most responses for both sexes emphasized self-imposed barriers such as “not a career goal,” work-life balance,” “priority for family,” “life-stage,” “lack of skills or education,” and “pressure or visibility unappealing.”
- Remarkably only 14% of women’s responses and 10% of men’s responses indicated that stereotyping, discriminatory practices, and political or geographical forces were an apparent obstacle hindering their own professional advancement.
- Men and women agree on home and career: Out of six categories of personal priorities, both sexes rated family first and career third. Men do not seem more career-focused than women, and women do not seem more household-focused than men.
- Personal choice outweighs the glass ceiling: Household and family responsibilities were rated as the #1 hindrance to women’s career advancement. There are opportunities for women to climb the corporate ladder if they choose to navigate personal circumstances.
Jonathan Worsley, chairman of Bench Events, co-organiser of RHIC commented “We are really excited to be able to host this important session as part of this year’s conference and to help companies discover what they can do to ensure more women enter the top management ranks.”
RHIC brings together international hotel leaders and key regional experts over two days, providing an invaluable opportunity for delegates to increase market knowledge, make new contacts and network with industry leaders involved in developing hotels throughout Russia & the CIS.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
