At the same time I was also asked to speak with students who were brimming with optimism and hope, at the 15th Anniversary of ITT Future You. But a day that should have been full of positivity, confidence and intent was tempered with doubt, disdain and disbelief.
At the end of the session a few students stayed behind. One was a tearful young American woman. She and her trans partner were desperate to find a job in the UK as they felt it was no longer safe to live in the US.
While the impact for us in the UK does not compare, my partner Lynne and I have no desire to travel to the States in the next four years. As a gay, married couple, how can we feel welcome in Trump’s America?
When you have extreme views and perpetuate untrue claims that are disseminated globally in seconds, it validates all those who believe the rhetoric to become more steadfast in their opinions and potentially for that hostility to be put into action.
As I travelled home that night, I was digging deep to remain positive when I suddenly heard Trump’s droning victory speech booming across a packed bus. Without hesitation I turned around and asked if the young man would please use his headphones as not everyone may want to listen to it. He smirked and said “say PLEASE, you bitch!” It was a shockingly bleak reminder of the hostility that now lives everywhere.
Brands are taking a worrying U-turn on DEI
Having held senior commercial sales and marketing roles culminating as Celebrity Cruises’ vice president and managing director, EMEA and now as a non-executive director at Hays Travel, I’m proud to support DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) processes in the workplace.
However, it appears the most powerful man in the world is about to rewrite our compassion, kindness and sensibility with lies, mistrust and hate speech. This was evident with his comments about transgender lunacy, and then blaming the horrific plane crash in Washington DC on DEI policies.
In a few short weeks, global brands including Amazon, Pepsi and McDonald’s have made a U-turn on diversity policies, cancelling DEI programmes.
Financially powerful individuals like Musk and Zuckerberg are stirring emotions and using the familiar divide and rule policy, a proven method for partition and control. Staggeringly misogynistic and unjust soundbites like “the corporate world being culturally neutered” and “needing more masculine energy,” serve to undo decades of campaigning for equality and the gender pay gap, and fuels greater unrest in the workplace, creating toxic environments.
The 2025 Edelman 2025 Trust Barometer recently revealed the “fear of being discriminated against” has surged to an all-time high of 64%, while 40% of people see hostile activism as a viable means to drive change.
Lessons from a holocaust survivor
McKinsey’s Diversity Report in 2015 found that top-quartile companies had a 15% greater likelihood of financial outperformance versus their bottom-quartile peers. In the latest 2023 report that figure hit 39%.
Organisations are increasingly under pressure to perform financially but the simple fact is that a diverse team is not only a better team it’s also a more profitable team.
Nobody is asking for preferential treatment. The distinction between equality and equity is important. Equality is giving everyone the same “shoe” while equity is giving everyone a “shoe that fits”.
I recently had the honour of listening to Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich MBE, who’s dedicated her life to telling her story and to speaking up against all hatred and discrimination. Her harrowing testimony of extreme torture in Nazi concentration camps began with hate speech.
This created an environment of fear and of not speaking up to defend others; of not fighting for what is right. Eighty years later, this pattern of widespread prejudice and discrimination is on the rise — not just in America but also across Europe. It must stop now.
Companies like Costco and Apple are uniting with their workforces and retaining their DEI policies despite political and legal pressure. They refuse to be cowed.
Within our great industry, organisations such as Everywoman, Women in Travel CIC, AWTE, Pride 365, Inclusive Travel Forum and WiHLT understand the value of embracing diverse teams and help companies educate and set up strategies.
I look forward to this year’s TTG Fairer Travel event in July. Hopefully we will see a larger attendance of commercial business leaders who are determined to make a difference, by focusing equally on purpose, people and profit.
How to make your voice heard
It takes a village to make change and we cannot progress if we have the same conversations with the same people. Allies are fundamental in moving us forward, to lift up those who are underrepresented and make their voices heard. Otherwise the cycle of misunderstanding, mistrust and fear will continue.
As Mala Tribich says, the opposite of love is not hate. It’s indifference. Indifference is the biggest risk to people, to industry and to humanity but true leaders can protect both people and profit without making compromises. As a leader, a business owner and a human being, I refuse to be indifferent. True leaders will not tolerate indifference.
