Alessandra Alonso, Founder of Women in Travel CIC (left) and Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Executive Director of BAME Women in Travel and Co-Founder of Hey! Dip Your Toes In.
The new BAME Women in Travel initiative will assist black, Asian and minority ethnic women in the travel and tourism industry to fulfil their economic and individual potential through customised training and mentoring services aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and employment.
Women in Travel CIC, the social enterprise dedicated to empowering women though employability and entrepreneurship in the travel industry, will launch ‘BAME Women in Travel’ at a Royal Society of Arts evening event (6pm – 8pm) in London on 11th March 2019.
The new BAME Women in Travel initiative will assist black, Asian and minority ethnic women in the travel and tourism industry to fulfil their economic and individual potential through customised training and mentoring services aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and employment. As well as engaging with BAME women, Women in Travel will simultaneously reach out to and work with the most forward-thinking travel and tourism businesses and organisations who wish to engage with and build knowledge of increasingly influential BAME travel communities.
Attendance at the launch event will be free to pre-registered guests from the BAME community and media, influencers and representatives from travel companies across the UK who are keen to champion diversity. During the evening, speakers, including Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Women in Travel’s new Executive Director of the BAME division, will discuss issues around diversity and talent, employee engagement, nurturing innovation and diversity aiding competitiveness, during a question and answer panel session.
Alessandra Alonso, Founder of Women in Travel CIC said: “'Since its inception in 2014, Women in Travel has passionately acted as go-between for the travel and tourism sector and talented yet marginalised women seeking greater involvement in the sector, be it via stable employment or the opportunity to launch their own tourism business. In the last 18 months we have run BAME-focused events with excellent feedback from the communities who engaged with us. Our BAME Women in Travel initiative is therefore the natural progression to grow the opportunities available to women from black, minority and Asian communities within a sector that is still lacking diversity at every level. We are very grateful to our partner GEC PR for supporting this important initiative.”
Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Executive Director of BAME Women in Travel and Co-Founder of Hey! Dip Your Toes In, said: “Despite the voices of women of colour within the travel and tourism industry traditionally being marginalised, there is a new wave of disruptors changing the narrative within this space. BAME Women in Travel plans to play a key role in providing resources, networking opportunities, training, and events focused on making advancement within the travel and tourism industry more accessible. I'm honoured to step into this new role as Executive Director of the BAME division of Women in Travel CIC. It is my hope that I can serve women of colour through my passionate advocation for a more diverse and inclusive industry.”
This month, Women in Travel has also proudly welcomed Fiona Anderson, Director at GEC PR, as a member of the advisory board. Fiona has enjoyed a twenty-year PR career that has included devising and leading publicity for premium travel brands such as India Tourism, the Maldives, the Philippines, Jamaica and Kyoto in Japan. Fiona and the GEC PR team are passionate about supporting the work of Women in Travel and encouraging more women from wider backgrounds to grow their careers within the exciting travel and tourism industry. Fiona will also be speaking at the launch event about her unique career experiences as a Black British female travel entrepreneur working across global markets.
Post event, BAME Women in Travel will work with industry partners to provide the following services for BAME women who are engaged in or interested in careers within the travel and tourism industry:
- Coaching and mentoring (one-to-one and group)
- Entrepreneurship workshops and events
- Upskilling programmes
- Conferences, summits and festivals
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
