Asmita Mukherjee | Hyderabad 
The Indian hospitality sector has seen a gradual rise in the number of women in leadership roles. The industry is constantly emphasizing on the gender parity as the current ratio of men to women employees in hospitality is outweighed by male employees. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, Asmita Mukherjee spoke with female hospitality industry leaders who have been trailblazers, fearlessly and successfully navigating their careers.
“The status of gender equality in the hospitality industry has progressed over the years but it requires more attention”
Manisha Sharma, General Manager, Renaissance Bengaluru Race Course Hotel
In the current scenario, what do you think is the most significant barrier for women in the Indian hospitality industry?
In the last decade, the hospitality industry has witnessed continuous growth. This industry is one of the areas where women are employed in substantial numbers. However, the industry still needs to focus on equal opportunities for women in the workplace. Traditional gender-based job roles are the obstacles that can be found in career development of women. Although women have made it clear that they have the ability to perform with the same skill and success in every endeavour similar to men, the issue of gender discrimination still exists in a lot of workplaces.
According to you, what is the current status of gender equality in the hospitality industry?
The status of gender equality in the hospitality industry has progressed over the years but it requires more attention.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job?
I do not see challenge at a larger scale if you are completely aware of your business. However, traditionally, often it is considered that a male should be appointed as the General Manager.
According to you, what are the three essential qualities that a women leader in the Hospitality industry should possess to truly make an impact?
A woman leader in the hospitality industry must possess the following three qualities: a thorough understanding of the business market; the ability to manage relationships; and empathy towards colleagues.
“Often I have come across an unconscious bias from clients and vendors whilst engaging with them for the work”
Swati Mohal Tandon, Sales Manager – MICE, ITC Grand Central
In the current scenario, what do you think is the most significant barrier for women in the Indian hospitality industry?
Over the last decade, the Indian hospitality industry has experienced tremendous growth. And, in this people’s industry, women hold a very high percentage of the total workforce. However, streamlining career advancement, learning and development for ladies from various departments in the hospitality industry should be given a major focus.
According to you, what is the current status of gender equality in the hospitality industry?
Hotels have always been a pioneer in hiring women to strike gender equality in the work force and every day we strive for continuous improvement. Currently, I work in the responsible luxury brand, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai and would definitely like to share that it is indeed a healthy environment where every employee is treated with immense respect.
Equal shift timings, employee benefits, privileged maternity leaves and much more are available for all ladies who work for this company.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job as a MICE manager?
Holding the office of MICE Manager gives me immense pleasure as I get the opportunity to be an integral part of people’s professional and personal events. With the happiness of the same there are quite a few challenges too.
Often I have come across an unconscious bias from clients and vendors whilst engaging with them for work. And, on the other hand while a man is always seen as strong, impartial, just and responsible whereas, a woman goes through common judgement at times. But, the same is proved wrong by the lovely ladies who are a part of the team, with their intelligence, passion for the job and discipline.
According to you, what are the three essential qualities that a women leader in the Hospitality industry should possess to truly make an impact?
Assertiveness, Being Dependable & exceeding expectations and to be emotionally intelligent. Last but not the least ‘Not to forget patience is the key.’
As Sheryl Sandberg rightly said, ‘In the future there will be no female leaders there will just be leaders’.
“Male employees tend to be more “available” when it comes to work commitments or spending extra hours at work than women”
Chef Anna Kavya John, Pastry Chef, Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Center
In the current scenario, what do you think is the most significant barrier for women in the Indian hospitality industry?
Not all employees prioritise their job over family and personal obligations in order to grow in their professional life. In my opinion, male employees tend to be more “available” when it comes to work commitments or spending extra hours at work than women – in this manner women are always at a disadvantage since they, at most cases prioritize the commitments that men otherwise tend to keep at the back seat.
According to you, what is the current status of gender equality in the hospitality industry?
In an industry and a hotel like Sheraton, women make up for a significant percentage of the entire workforce. We showcase an incredible potential in leadership roles and most departments witness women in senior & domain head roles.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job as a bakery head where mostly male chefs have been leading the charge?
It’s been my dream to be a professional chef/baker and I know I won’t quit no matter what challenges life or work throws at me. We all have had difficult and exciting times in our career and if I were to pin down one such challenge it would undoubtedly be our physically strenuous nature of work. Chefs barely get to sit and relax at work – we are continuously on our toes and that at times does tire me out, but like I said – I won’t quit no matter what! I love my job and nothing comes in the way!!
According to you, what are the three essential qualities that a women leader in the Hospitality industry should possess to truly make an impact?
I could list more than just 3 here, however, these I feel are prerequisites:
Work-life balance (easier said than done, one can at least try!)
Strong ability to create women-led/empowered workplace
Humility – I always say: if you want something, ask with humility not with authority!
“Companies now understand that they need to be a support system for female employees”
Neha Chhabra, GM, Courtyard by Marriott Bengaluru Hebbal
In the current scenario, what do you think is the most significant barrier for women in the Indian hospitality industry?
Over the last couple of years, the hospitality industry has seen a large increase in women leadership roles across India and globally. It is indeed disheartening that even in this day and age, we need to still talk about this topic which is clearly because the ratio of men to women in the hospitality field is still skewed! Whether a man or woman, each one of us needs to start at the grass root level, work hard, and then grow up the ladder. It’s in this process that a lot of women get filtered out, mostly because of family pressure, commitments and the workplace not having enough policies to support their professional journey. It is indeed encouraging to see that across all sectors of hospitality, the focus is to get the right person for the right job, irrespective of gender. Having said that, the progress of women can only be accelerated when the mindset at home also changes, companies can keep promoting equality but it is of little use if back home this doesn’t change.
According to you, what is the current status of gender equality in the hospitality industry?
Over the last 10 years, there has been remarkable progress with companies trying to promote gender equality and overall supporting women in the workplace. Your family, partner, workplace policies, and colleagues, all make up one’s support system and each one plays an important part!
With more learning and development training available in hotel companies, both men and women are getting the chance to improve and grow within their preferred departments, as well help them to structure their overall career growth. The stereotypes are breaking and there is encouragement across the board. Companies now understand that they need to be a support system for female employees, either they give them benefits of a crèche facility for the child or flexible hours at work, or even tailor-make an offer to retain the talent!
What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job as a GM?
The challenges of a GM is the same that any leader would have in any company, however, what makes our life unique is that no one day is the same. As a captain of the ship, the sheer dynamics of dealing with so many human elements make our day very interesting and challenging at the same time. We are responsible to keep the ship afloat in all odds. While our core responsibility will always be the business and delivering results, in the journey of achieving these quantifiable deliverables we need to juggle a lot of things; be it the guest expectations or handling the owners and the management company, or motivating and training the team. As we say we are as good as our teams, and a lot of effort goes into nurturing and developing them. Another challenge we are facing is that the explosion of social media and managing people’s expectations through every channel, can become daunting at times.
According to you, what are the three essential qualities that a women leader in the Hospitality industry should possess to truly make an impact?
As women leaders in hospitality, we will face a lot of gender bias from various stakeholders and one has to be extremely resilient without being defensive. Having said that the qualities remain the same be it a man or woman, as I always believe it’s the work of the person which is important and not the gender. It is often proven that women have higher emotional intelligence and their feminine touch gives beauty and elegance therefore as leaders, we need to be both compassionate and empathic.
Communication and grooming play a key role in our industry and efforts need to be made to ensure that you are able to be a role model to your team members who are constantly looking up to you!
“In the last few years, the overall ecosystem has seen a positive change for women, including the hospitality industry”
Shantla Jain, Director of Marketing, Conrad Bengaluru
In the current scenario, what do you think is the most significant barrier for women in the Indian hospitality industry?
In the last few years, the overall ecosystem has seen a positive change for women, including the hospitality industry. Many socially conscious organizations have taken an active role in eliminating biases and creating opportunities for women across levels. While companies continue to encourage equality at the workplace, there are challenges such as gender stereotypes, compensation disparity, and lack of women role-models and mentors, who can further guide from a place of experience.
Another pressing issue remains maintaining a balance between work and family, given the nature of the job, being present at work for extended or odd hours becomes unavoidable and not many families are able to support these scenarios.
Hotel chains are making strategic changes to create a more cohesive environment for diverse workforce and hosts many awareness initiatives to encourage a social environment which is comforting to all. These changes are welcoming but the pace at which these are happening need to be much faster and more unified.
According to you, what is the current status of gender equality in the hospitality industry?
The companies are aiming to achieve 40%-50% of women employees in their total workforce, however still most hotels and restaurants in India have only around 30-35% of women employees on an average.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job as a DoM where mostly male DoMs have been leading the charge?
In Indian hospitality, the Marketing function is one such role where women have been able to make equal presence, if not more than men. The versatile role of hotel marketing demands creativity, tenacity and PR skills in which women have been acing. I agree that for years these roles have witnessed a glass ceiling and gender stereotypes, which took a turn not only because of women empowerment but the increased scope of marketing in hotels. The challenge now is to keep up with the dynamic marketing trends and not only limiting to hotels but across industries.
I will not deny facing the unconscious biases at work but I have been fortunate to have held leadership roles with brands like Hilton, Accor, Taj and Hyatt who have been actively mobilising the positive change in our industry and building an inclusive work environment.
According to you, what are the three essential qualities that a women leader in the Hospitality industry should possess to truly make an impact?
Women already operate from a place of empathy, which gives them an edge as a leader in a diverse workforce. A few essential qualities that are important to have or inculcate are, Resilience, given the added obstacles women face at work, we need to have that never give up spirit in order to achieve our goals. Being assertive and confident is key as one should not hesitate while putting their point across or leading a way for their team. Having high emotional intelligence is also a great quality to have as one may often find themselves in need of analysing the situation rationally and resolving the conflicts while being considerate to various emotions.
These qualities not only help lead better but becomes a guiding factor for aspiring women leaders and we all have to contribute in encouraging future women leaders.
