GBTA Foundation Assists And Empowers Women In Hospitality

Forbes

4 days ago

Women are trailblazing new paths for others in hospitality. GBTA
GBTA Foundation, the non-profit, purpose-driven arm of the Global Business Travel Association, is an influential business travel and meetings trade organization that serves over 8,500 members and stakeholders across six continents for the $1.48 trillion industry.
Beverly Heinritz, Senior Director, Foundation Programs, GBTA Foundation. GBTA
Leadership development programs are essential and the numbers tell a clear story. A survey the GBTA Foundation conducted about the challenges and opportunities women face as professionals working in the business travel industry found that even though women make up the majority of professionals on both the corporate travel manager and supplier sides, this representation is strongest at mid-management levels and significant gender disparities remain in the most senior executive roles. In fact, according to the survey respondents, only 39% of vice presidents or executives at travel supplier and travel management companies are women, compared to their higher representation at director levels, where they hold 66% of the roles. Clearly the talent is there, but the upward mobility isn't. Programs like GBTA WINiT that build leadership skills and networks are how we address that drop-off and help women reach the leadership levels they're more than qualified to occupy.
Programs can also offer inspiration and validation. A pivotal moment for me, both personally and professionally, was when I participated in a mentorship program earlier in my career. It wasn't just a professional growth opportunity—it made me feel seen. It signaled that my company recognized my potential and was willing to invest in it. That moment created a sense of forward motion, and that momentum carried me through challenges, transitions and future leadership roles. These types of programs offer that same spark to thousands of women.
In hospitality, where women often dominate customer-facing and operational roles, we need to ensure leadership development happens early and consistently—not only once someone is already progressing within their career path, but well before that. Otherwise, we risk losing highly capable women at the exact point they're ready to lead.
This dynamic is one of several that informed the creation of GBTA WINiT's Path to Parity—a 10-year plan to achieve 50/50 gender representation in leadership roles across the business travel industry by 2035. The initiative draws on mentorship, research, community engagement and allyship to address the gender gap with clear targets and sustained momentum. It's a coordinated effort to develop women leaders personally but also systematically, globally and measurably.
CEO Panel from the WINiT Summit 2024. GBTA How can women break through the "glass ceiling" within the industry?
Breaking through comes down to three things: visibility, advocacy and readiness. Women are doing the work, but the challenge is making sure they're seen, supported and considered for the roles they've earned.
Mentorship is the first step, but sponsorship is the game-changer. Mentors offer guidance and perspective; sponsors use their influence. When a sponsor says in a meeting, 'She's ready for this role,' that changes everything. It positions women not just as capable, but as top-of-mind for critical opportunities. These relationships often shift careers.
Visibility matters just as much. One of the reasons we host our annual WINiT Summit and Gala , where we honor the Top 50 Women in Travel and Pinnacle Awards, is to ignite industry dialogue, promote learning and empowerment and highlight the impact women are making in this industry. These events and recognitions open doors to serving on boards, panels, advisory roles and promotions. We've heard directly from past honorees: their visibility at the Summit and through these awards have unequivocally led to career advancement.
We also need to examine the cultures within our companies. For years, many women advanced by adapting to male-dominated leadership models and behaviors. But that's changing. Today's workforce values empathy, adaptability and authenticity—traits women have long brought to leadership but weren't always encouraged to use. We're now in an environment where those qualities are not only accepted but expected.
I'll never forget a moment during one of our WINiT summits: a male ally in one of our sessions shared how attending had changed his perspective. It was the first time he'd been in a professional setting where he was in the gender minority. It shifted how he saw inclusion, and that awareness shaped how he led, ran meetings and created safe spaces for others to be seen. The saying 'it takes a village' really is true here: women don't break the ceiling alone—they do it with networks, champions and organizations that are truly committed to equity.
Participants were prompted to identify their 'superpower.' GBTA How does WINiT specifically help women advance in their careers?
WINiT supports women through mentorship, leadership development, global community-building, and recognition. These programs are designed to scale and deliver impact.
Today, we support more than 2,000 active mentees and train over 1,000 women each year through our leadership offerings. This endeavor is core to our work, designed to reach women at various points in their careers, and has grown significantly in the last three years.
Our mentorship model puts the mentee in the driver's seat. They set their own goals, manage the relationship, and guide the pace. That ownership builds confidence and reinforces core leadership behaviors. It also prepares them for the real-world dynamics of managing up and navigating influence.
We've expanded our reach globally, with WINiT members in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and across the Asia Pacific region. Regardless of geography, the need is consistent: women want connection, coaching, and community. And through WINiT, they find all three.
Recognition is another critical lever. Through our annual awards programs, we elevate voices that deserve to be seen and celebrated. These stories inspire others while putting high-potential women on the radar of industry leaders and decision-makers.
We also work with organizations to embed equity at the system level. We encourage alignment with frameworks like the UN Women's Empowerment Principles , and we're seeing uptake. Some of the largest companies in travel are now signatories, aligning their internal strategies with the global movement we're driving.
A Superpower Exchange Session at WINiT Summit 2024. GBTA What skills can be taught through these programs?
Our programs focus on strategic leadership, effective communication and personal growth, the core skill sets that set strong leaders apart. They're often called 'soft skills,' but we treat them as essential to executive readiness.
One of the most requested topics is personal branding. Women want to refine how they show up, communicate their value, and advocate for leadership roles. These aren't vanity exercises. They're central to visibility and influence, two things every leader needs.
Resilience is another major theme. In a recent session, we broke down resilience into traits like confidence and composure and discussed how to build those deliberately over time.
Communication is foundational. In hospitality, you're constantly navigating multiple stakeholders: clients, internal teams, leadership and vendors. We train women to tailor messaging, negotiate, and influence across all those groups with clarity and confidence.
We also emphasize leadership habits: how to effectively delegate, how to prioritize with limited time, how to set strategic goals. And perhaps most importantly, we make space for meaningful connections. Community isn't just a bonus—it's a leadership behavior. One of our panelists put it best at a recent summit: when she's overwhelmed, she doesn't power through alone. She reconnects with people who give her energy and perspective. That's strategic, not soft.
We've also expanded into emerging areas—adaptive leadership, managing burnout, and leading through change. These are the tools leaders need right now, not just in theory, but in practice.
Event hosts Patricia Huska, Shawn Cole and Laura Smith. GBTA How can these programs address the gender gap?
They do it by targeting the critical inflection point where the gender gap becomes most visible: the transition from director to executive roles. Anecdotally and through our research, we've seen that the industry workforce isn't missing women, but the executive suite is.
Our Path to Parity strategy addresses this systematically. It's built around five key focus areas: inspire change, shape future leaders, engage every level, motivate change, and recognize achievement. Each one has a roadmap and a metric.
We've made real progress already. We now train over 1,000 women annually, support a growing base of 2,000 mentees, and engage a global community of more than 10,000 professionals. Those numbers aren't just markers of growth; they represent a shift in what's possible.
Our recent How Women are Shaping the Future of Business Travel survey of over 600 global business professionals found that even though women are well-represented in mid-management roles, there are still significant gender disparities at the most senior executive levels. This indicates there is still room for significant improvement as the impact of women in the industry continues to evolve.
Recognition also plays a role in steering corporate engagement. Celebrating women who make our industry better shines a spotlight on their achievements that lead to new opportunities, board seats, and decision-making influence. And representation, as we know, creates a multiplier effect. When women see others lead, they believe they can too.
We also push for accountability at the company level. Through the UN Women's Empowerment Principles, we're helping organizations make public, measurable commitments.
The gender gap won't close with good intentions alone. It takes programs that address real barriers, use real data, and operate at scale. It takes companies willing to commit. And it takes leadership from across the business travel ecosystem—individuals, teams, and institutions—working together over time. This is a long-term movement, and we're building it to last. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes How To Best Experience The Great American Road Trip By Roger Sands Forbes The Uber-Rich Are Flocking To This Small Mountain Town By Roger Sands