Together, the two organisations plan to use the charter – developed through cross-industry collaboration with a range of business travel organisations – to share their combined wisdom and advice on DE&I topics, and how to measure success.
Their aim is for the charter to become a best practice guide for companies throughout travel to ensure a safe working environment for all.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion are the vital building blocks to the success of the business travel industry," said BTA chief executive Clive Wratten. "As such, they must not be forgotten as we start the new year and step back, refocus, and plan our progress against our DE&I principles.
"Together with the Association of Women Travel Executives, I am confident we can educate the industry to ensure individual needs are represented and supported across the entire business travel network.”
AWTE chair Lindsay Garvey-Jones added the charter would make it easier for the industry to navigate "what good looks like". “DE&I is still high on the corporate agenda," said Garvey-Jones.
"We want to work together with the BTA to make sense of it and to create something tangible – a charter, a best practice tool to support, motivate and inspire those in our industry to ’do better’ in this area.
"By recruiting smarter, creating higher employee engagement, creating an inclusive culture, improving marketing, and better policies for parents, menopause and those who are differently abled, we can look forward to a more diverse and inclusive industry without fear of judgement."
The charter is available from both organisations’ websites. Employees and employers can sign up to the charter to gain access to a range of best practice guidance and infographics. A charter toolkit will be freely available and adaptable for individual businesses to track progress against their DE&I goals.
