Travel and hospitality companies are making a diversity pledge by committing to five actions to promote workplace equality.
The actions are part of the U.K.'s Business In The Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter and include appointing an executive sponsor for race, capturing ethnicity data and ensuring all managers and leaders are onboard.
So far, 15 travel and hospitality companies have signed up, including Bourne Leisure, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group.
The signings follow a campaign led by Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure (WiHTL) which, in a recent report, highlighted the lack of ethnic minority representation across the travel and hospitality segments, especially in senior positions.
Other recent studies have also highlighted the shortfall when it comes to Black representation in hospitality roles.
Castell Project research indicated that despite the wide representation of Black people in hospitality, Black executives only make up 1.5% of director level of above roles in the United States .
Amanda Mackenzie, CEO of BITC, says: “Diversity and inclusion are key to a responsible recovery so I’m pleased to see that the hospitality, travel and leisure sectors - despite suffering some of the biggest economic hits due to the coronavirus pandemic - are reasserting their commitment to race equality by signing up to Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter.”
WiHTL has also joined forces with the European Network Against Racism to launch a series of webinars to promote race equality in the workplace.