Mazy Cheng of Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers

Tourism accounts for a significant proportion of economic activity in many Asian countries and regions, including Hong Kong. The continued growth of the industry and a healthy talent pipeline are important to any nation's economic prosperity. In the international hospitality industry, female employees make up close to 70% of the total workforce and carry out over 70% of the informal work. Despite this, they hold less than 40% of all managerial positions, less than 20% of general management roles, and make up only between 5% and 8% of corporate board members of publically-quoted hospitality enterprises.

These statistics clearly show that even though the majority of the hospitality industry'`s workforce is female, women are still underrepresented in senior positions and at the general manager level.

Insights into Gender Equality
These very issues were discussed at a recent Women in Tourism and Hospitality Forum held in Hong Kong together with the announcement of the findings, including the above-mentioned statistics, and the recommendations of a White Paper entitled ‘Women in Tourism and Hospitality: Unlocking the Potential in the Talent Pool' on March 5, 2015, ahead of International Women's Day. The White Paper was produced by the Hospitality Industry Pipeline (HIP) Coalition. Established last year, the HIP Coalition brings together leading industry members to identify, share and promote best practices in recruitment, employment, diversity and inclusion. Led by the world's leading premium drinks company - Diageo, other members include Accor Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Sala Bai Hotel and Restaurant School, and CARE International. The research partners are Professor Tom Baum from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and Professor Catherine Cheung from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

"The imperative to have women in leadership roles is now a mainstream conceit, and many multi-national companies and sectors have initiatives and objectives that aim to make this possible. However, the hospitality and tourism industry has not yet succeeded in promoting women in significant numbers into leadership positions," added Professor Baum.

Charles Woo of Starwood Hotels and Resort

Best Practices from Forwardthinking Corporations
The White Paper concludes with a host of wide-ranging recommendations derived from case studies detailing best practices by coalition members in order to realise the potential of women in the workplace and to promote the business case for gender equality. Along with the sharing among key hospitality and tourism industry members, a panel discussion was also held with the participation of Irene Lin, director of distribution, loyalty and partnership of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific; Leanne Wood, human resources director of Diageo; and Louise Daley, chief executive officer of Accor Advantage Plus. During the discussion, the panelists exchanged with the industry practitioners in attendance their insights on the industrywide challenges of talent scarcity and opportunities as well as gender-focused solutions for the industry and cross collaboration to help address these issues. They also explored the business logic and benefits of promoting women in the workforce for individual companies and for the industry at large, highlighting programmes, progress, and the overall economic value of these efforts.

Many best practices were examined in the White Paper for the development of tomorrow's leaders and the investments in the future growth of the industry. To this end, Accor's Asia Pacific Women at Accor Generation (WAAG) committee initiates custom tailored strategies with a mentoring programme to help overcome challenges in gender diversity while Banyan Tree's training and development scheme guides associates into leadership roles and provides support for indigenous craftswomen. Besides, Starwood Hotels and Resort launched the Global Female General Manager Initiative that seeks to ensure gender balance at all levels within the organisation by implementing a globally agreed upon strategy and roadmap to increase female general manager (GM) representation.

Irene Lin of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific

Starwood Leads a Host of Female Talent Development Initiatives
"The roadmap comprises programmes and training designed to prepare female employees to assume executive positions," says Dylan Choong, director, human resources of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific. "This includes strengthening success with Starwood Careers, an integrated talent management and development system conceptualised specifically in Asia Pacific to fit the region's unique needs." Since 2003, Starwood Careers has nurtured more than 10,600 employees across various levels in the organisation and surfaced close to 72% of its female GMs internally.

Other elements of the initiative include a leadership programme where training courses are designed to further equip Starwood's high potential female senior staff and promising GM talent for career enrichment and enhancement with topics ranging from ‘Building Executive Presence' to ‘Creating Your Personal Brand'. "Starwood Careers now has a new mandate to identify more female GM or VP candidates via the People Leadership Development Programme," explains Mazy Cheng, director of human resources, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers. "HR will put forward at least one female qualified candidate among two or three for any available GM positions," she adds.

The Global Mentoring Programme has specific initiatives in place to provide Starwood Women company-wide access to additional developmental resources that will further equip and position them for career advancement. The Group has also enhanced and expanded its mentoring programmes throughout the region. One such example is the Women's Initiative Network (WIN) specifically for the Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia region to support female employees in different areas like career development, work-life balance and others. The WIN network offers mentoring for women by the most senior female leaders overseeing hotel operations. They come together for monthly ‘webinars' with a guest speaker. In addition, each forum will have a topic of discussion that links to a global project currently underway.

"This mentorship was very important to me," says Irene Lin, one of the panelists, from Starwood. "Wherever I looked during my career in the U.S. or in Asia, there have always been lots of female mentors I could easily gain access to." Lin believes that these senior female executives have given her guidance and inspiration throughout her career development in the corporation. "My thinking is always - they can do it, why not me?"

"Having been with the Group for eight years, I have always felt blessed," she adds. "At Starwood it's all about qualifications, experience and timing rather than what gender you are. Once we have set a clear direction in our career paths, we get all the necessary support we need." She agrees that family considerations may constitute an internal obstacle to her career development. "At one point along the way I wanted to spend more time with my daughter. Later on, though, the Group offered me the opportunities to move to different regions. During the process, management never forced me to go anywhere and they always made sure my family was well taken care of."

Signing of the UN's Women's Empowerment Principles
"Diversity and inclusion are key components of Starwood's business strategy," says Charles Woo, area managing director, Hong Kong and Macau, of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. "At Starwood we have developed a caring culture. In addition to looking out for our guests, our businesses as well as our communities, the mentoring programme is an expression of how we care for our employees. We believe that the best talent comes from within the organisation. So we take care of them, nurture and promote them." Woo is also the managing director, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotels and Towers.

He says:- "The recent signing of the United Nation's Women's Empowerment Principles (WEP) document by our Asia-Pacific president was an important symbolic gesture that highlights our commitment to being an equal opportunity employer and supporting the empowerment and advancement of women in the workplace and community." The WEP comprises seven principles for businesses, including establishing high-level corporate leadership initiatives for gender equality and promoting education, training and professional development for women.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies across the globe with more than 1,200 properties in 100 countries, and more than 180,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with a host of internationally renowned brands including St. Regis, W, Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Aloft and others.

One of the fastest growing hotel companies, Starwood currently employs over 74,500 associates in Asia Pacific region, of which 42% are women and 38% of these women are in executive positions, including 12% at the GM level. Mazy Cheng of Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers points out: - "In Hong Kong, 45% of all staff in senior managerial grades from ExCom to GM levels are women at three Starwood hotel properties, including Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, W Hong Kong and Le Meridien Cyberport." She said that Starwood will continue to move forward and ensure sufficient and equal opportunities for female executives.