Community interest company BAME Women in Travel has launched a corporate partnership scheme to help and encourage firms in the industry to increase inclusion of people from ethnic minorities.
Corporate partners will be guided by BAME Women in Travel to set tangible representation targets, boost the profile of existing employees from minority groups, establish best practice guidelines and set up cross-sector networks and interest groups.
It is calling for meaningful change in areas such as ethnicity pay gaps and talent pipelines.
The initiative, which is part of social enterprise Women in Travel (CIC), hopes to address racial inequality as a societal, moral and business issue and hopes to form tailored solutions for companies in travel to increase the level of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the workplace.
Educational Lunch and Learn sessions will also be delivered to corporate partners, who will receive insights and updates via a quarterly e-newsletter. Partners will also be encouraged to show their commitment to the cause by displaying a BAME Women in Travel Supporter logo on their websites and other communications.
The new partnerships programme is part of BAME Women in Travel’s wider Vision 2023 plan, which seeks to ensure that BAME women in the travel industry have a fair and equal opportunity to be hired, retained and promoted.
The three-year plan is being spearheaded by BAME Women in Travel’s executive director Jamie-Lee Abtar, who has 10 years’ experience in travel, including at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
She said: “The Black Lives Matter movement has shone a global spotlight on racial injustice and leaders in organisations are now being asked to step up and commit to racial and social justice and equality in their companies. Our new BAME Women in Travel corporate partnership scheme is a great place to start and we look forward to working with committed organisations in the travel industry. For BAME Women in Travel like myself, it’s not about tokenism, but about being given a fair and equal opportunity because we are talented, smart and capable of driving the growth and success of the UK travel industry.”
Alessandra Alonso, founder of Women in Travel (CIC), added: “Our new corporate partnerships allow travel brands to collaborate and address shared challenges, with the aim to refocus energy and commitment in UK workforces to drive change and ensure travel businesses attract, recruit, retain and develop BAME talent.”
For pricing and to learn more about BAME Women in Travel’s corporate partnerships contact Jamie-Lee Abtar at bame@womenintravelcic.com.
