Data released at the GBTA Foundation’s WinIt Conference last
week paints a picture of how the managed travel industry is powered by female
professionals—but not as often shaped by female leadership. The foundation’s
survey of 600 travel professionals found that among corporate travel buyers, women
held a strong number of director-level roles but failed to garner the most senior
travel management titles available. On the supplier side, the situation was
similar: women achieved strong positions but failed to keep equal footing in leadership.
On the corporate side, women represent 67 percent of travel
managers and buyers. That number jibes with BTN studies—and has
remained constant for at least 15 years. According to the GBTA survey, 68
percent of female respondents held a manager or senior manager role, compared
to 29 percent of male respondents, indicating an equitable distribution of men
and women at this level given the overall industry demographics.
Distribution of director-level positions begin to departs
from that equilibrium, with just 59 percent held by women, lagging their overall
representation in travel management roles. Further, as titles shift to vice
president or above, female representation drops drastically. Only 46 percent of
survey respondents who cited vice president-level roles or higher were female,
compared to 50 percent who were male (select respondents opted out of
identifying their gender).
On the supplier side, the picture was equally discouraging—and
perhaps more so. Only 39 percent of vice president or executive leadership
roles at travel suppliers and TMCs were held by women, though women represented
57 percent of all roles on the travel supplier side. A strong plurality of female
travel professionals held account management roles—at 22 percent—compared to
just 8 percent of male travel professionals in those roles. Moreover, only 2
percent of female respondents cited roles in technology; men cited such roles
more than three times as often as women.
The GBTA Foundation report suggested that lack of dedicated career
development opportunities for women were to blame for bracketing talented
female professionals out of leadership positions. Only 37 percent of travel
companies that participated in this survey had such programs, which report
authors cited as “crucial” for developing female leaders.
“There is a clear opportunity for more robust initiatives
that focus on promoting women to the executive levels and for further
investment in mentorship, development programs, and gender diversity
initiatives in leadership and technical roles,” said GBTA foundation managing
director Delphine Millot.