As a teen of the noughties, I remember marvelling at the brazen legal clerk (played in the movie by Julia Roberts), who took on a huge corporation and secured what is still the largest payout in US legal history – $330 million, to be precise. Eighteen years after the film (and 25 years since she won her case), it’s heartening to see Brockovich remains both a dedicated environmental activist and fierce campaigner for gender equality.
Crucially, she points out “this is not women versus men. It’s about women finding their voice”. Frustratingly, though, it seems women in travel and tourism are still struggling to find theirs.
A new report by Equality in Tourism, seen exclusively by TTG, reveals the industry is “seriously lagging behind” other sectors, not to mention national and international targets.
The latest study, Sun, Sand and Ceilings, examined 53 UK-based travel firms and found female representation at board level across travel and tourism has increased to only 23%. It’s a leap from the 15% representation of women on boards identified in its original report in 2013, but it’s still not the proposed 25% that Equality in Tourism had urged the industry to reach by 2015.
There are a number of industry associations and companies committed to tackling this inequality, not least TTG through our partnership with everywoman in Travel. On Wednesday, we were proud to attend the 2018 IBM iX everywoman in Travel Awards, championing the women – and men – working to effect change in travel.
“Your workplace,” says Brockovich, “should be equal, fair and everything you want it to be.”
That’s one target we should all strive to achieve.
