Women make up less than an eighth of the top leadership positions at 350 B-to-B travel industry companies analyzed by travel communication firm Belvera Partners.
At those 350 companies, which cover a wide range of travel-related services including distribution, technology, ground handling and destination management, 12.4 percent have female CEOs, and 12.1 percent have female chairpersons, according to the report. Companies focused on business travel fared better than that average, with 26 percent having female CEOs and 23 percent having female chairpersons.
Verticals with the lowest percentages of female leadership included aviation, with 6 percent having female CEOs and 3 percent having female chairpersons, and hotel distribution and sales, with 5 percent having female CEOs and 8 percent having female chairpersons. Travel technology companies also had a lower-than-average representation of women in leadership positions, with female CEOs in 8 percent of companies and female chairpersons in 6 percent of companies.
The highest rates of female representation were at hospitality schools, with 29 percent having female CEOs and 43 percent having female chairpersons.
Belvera next month plans to release data on how many of those companies are led by non-white individuals. “Spoiler alert: The results aren’t very positive,” the company said.
