From lefti to right: Alessandra Alonso, founder of Women in Travel (CIC), Simon Gallow, Advocate at UN Women UK, and Sandra Carvao, Chief of Market Intelligence and Competitiveness at World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The three virtual panel webinars focused on the impacts of COVID-19 for women will take place on 21st May, 28th May and 4th June 2020.
Women in Travel (CIC), the social enterprise dedicated to empowering women through employability and entrepreneurship in the travel industry, has announced the launch of a series of virtual panel webinars that will highlight the impact, consequences and solutions for women in the era of COVID-19.
With United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stating that COVID-19 could reverse progress made towards gender equality, it is vital that women's leadership is front of mind in response efforts. Subsequently, the first hour-long panel webinar, which will take place on 21st May 2020 at 4:30 PM BST, will evaluate the overall impact of COVID-19 on women and what can be done to assist those affected. The panel will be moderated by Women in Travel’s Founder, Alessandra Alonso, who will be joined by speakers including Simon Gallow, Advocate at UN Women UK, and Sonia Omar, Fundraising Manager at Education For All.
The series of virtual panels will be free to attend, but voluntary donations for the first panel event on 21st May are welcome to support UN Women UK. 100% of the donations received will be used to support women and girls in some of the most vulnerable situations around the world, with just £15 providing a week’s worth of hygiene essentials and food for a woman and her children in quarantine. Women in Travel will also match funding received up to £250.
Donations are also welcome for the second and third virtual panel events, with the money going towards Women in Travel’s own initiatives, which provide mentoring and coaching sessions help vulnerable, underrepresented and marginalised women to find economic empowerment and personal fulfilment through work in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
The second virtual panel on 28th May 2020 at 2:30 PM BST will focus on the implications of COVID-19 for women specifically working in the travel and tourism industry, which has seen many women furloughed from full-time work. During the webinar, speakers including Dr Manal Kelig, Executive Director MENA at Adventure Travel Trade Association; Dr Mariana Aldrigui, Researcher at the University of Sao Paulo; Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA at Intrepid Travel; and Sandra Carvao, Chief of Market Intelligence and Competitiveness at World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), will discuss how women can continue to engage with the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and how best they can resume to work. Sandra Carvao will provide attendees with valuable insights on how best to recover from a crisis following her previous experience of coordinating the Tourism Resilience Committee created by UNWTO to address the impacts of the global economic crisis 2008-2009 on tourism.
The series of virtual panel webinars will conclude with a final session focused on practical solutions and tangible learnings for women working in the travel and tourism industry who have been directly impacted on both a personal and professional level by the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking place on 4th June 2020 from 2:30 PM BST, speakers including Barbara Kolosinka, Director at C&M Recruitment; Jamie-Lee Abtar, Executive Director of BAME Women in Travel; and HR & Talent Professional Claire Steiner, will evaluate what is being done in terms of recruitment to attract and retain staff during this time. The session will also analyse how individuals can help themselves, by looking at initiatives such as personal branding.
Commenting on the series of upcoming webinars, Alessandra Alonso, the Founder of Women in Travel (CIC) said: “COVID-19 may be causing more male fatalities overall, but women and children are the unaccounted-for casualties. The impact of COVID-19 on women is far reaching and goes beyond the already dramatic health and economic consequences. For example, cases of domestic violence have spiralled globally and teenage girls in less developed countries where the ‘digital divide’ is present are losing access to education by not being able to attend school or take part in virtual classes. We’ve therefore launched these three virtual panel webinars to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on women worldwide and tangible solutions for those affected.”
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.
