Within this community Naureen Ahmed has launched the Inspire Programme, which will use mentoring and events to create stronger bonds and build a pipeline of future female leaders for the industry.

Ahmed said: “The vision is for gender balance across hospitality. We know it is there at entry level, but it drops off as you climb the ladder. By coming together, we can identify the reasons behind this and address them.

“Over the past year I have been travelling around the world, hosting Inspire roundtables, recording podcasts, listening to women and the issues in the sector and the two themes where I feel we can make a difference are mentorship and community.
 
“This has led me to create a programme which will build strong relationships that last, forge real connections and create a space to have conversations about topics where we can help each other. We are all good at having a glass of wine and sharing our woes, but we need to help each other find solutions.”

The Inspire Programme starts with group workshops of six to eight members, meeting online or in person, discussing a broad range of topics, including networking, family life, values and personal finance.

The group workshops allow members to learn from one another and get to know each other through sharing stories, perspectives and experiences. At the end of the workshops participants will be paired up to begin their peer-to-peer mentoring relationship. The group will come back together regularly to check on its progress.

Ahmed said: “The programme is open to anyone at any stage of their career and the participants will be given a structure and guidance to help ensure the programme is a success and helps facilitate those important conversations. The stronger we are as a community, the more that we can influence other areas of our lives and others within the industry.”

Ahmed began her career at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, before joining the Landmark London Hotel. Most recently she was at STR, where she spent 12 years in roles including director of marketing for the international business.

She said: “Throughout my 16-year career in hospitality I have met amazing women in our industry, but I felt we did not have enough visibility for our voices to be heard. If we want to make change happen, we have to work with everybody in the sector; women, men, the businesses they are part of.

“We want to get to a place where we can see a balance at every level as you go through the hierarchy within hospitality, because when you have diversity of thought and leadership, that’s when you have more fulfilling careers and more profitable businesses.

“We are starting to see this in other industries and now it’s time to do the same in hospitality.”