8th March marks the 48th International Women’s Day1. ‘Accelerate Action’ is its theme this year. It’s an opportunity to step back and look at the role of women in the workplace generally, and the importance of women to the business travel sector and at Take2Eton in particular.
We’ve come a long way since 1776, when Abigail Smith Adams, first lady to President John Adams wrote her ‘Remember the Ladies’ letter urging that women’s rights and protections be considered when drafting new laws in America.
The fight really began even further back, in the 15th century, when widowed Katherine Fenkyll took over her husband’s drapery business in Tudor London.
The 20th century was when things really changed. In 1925, Dubliner Oonagh Keogh became the first female stockbroker in the world when she joined the Dublin Stock Exchange, causing shock amongst the male-dominated finance world. In 1922, Vladimir Lenin declared March 8th International Working Women’s Day, honouring the role of women in 1917’s Russian revolution.
In the UK, the Equal Pay Act of 1970 outlawed gender-based pay discrimination. Five years later the Sex Discrimination Act prohibited gender discrimination in employment. The 70s saw the first female bank manager, transport minister and train driver.
Business case
Today, almost a third of small businesses in the UK are female owned, whilst women hold 42% of board seats at FTSE 100 companies. In Ireland, women now account for 41% of board level positions at ISEQ 20 companies.
For many organisations, female representation at senior levels is a must because it brings the different perspectives, ideas and approaches that drive innovation. There’s also a quantifiable link between female leadership and company performance.
Organisations with 30%+ female-to-male executives are more likely to outperform others with a lower gender balance.2 Meanwhile, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity in executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than those in the bottom quartile.3
Women in business travel
Women dominate the travel industry in terms of numbers, occupying 81.6% of entry-level roles4 and 76.8% of mid-level roles. But it’s a different story at senior level, where they are less likely than men to occupy senior executive positions.5
There’s still a long way to go. The percentage of women hired into leadership roles in the UK has stalled, falling from 37.8% in 2022 to 37.1% in 2024.6
In Ireland, women account for 31% of senior leadership roles, whereas in the US, women hold around 25% of senior management roles, and 30% of senior leadership positions. Worldwide the figure for senior management is estimated at 33.5%.7
Take2Eton bucking the trend
At Take2Eton we’re more advanced than most. That’s because inclusivity is integral to our brand.
Half of our senior management team are female, rising to around 60% at middle management level. We encourage the diverse perspectives, better decision-making, and innovation this enables.
Aside from our leadership team, our teams are also ahead of our competitors in female representation. Overall, around three-quarters of Take2Eton are women.
Our Technology lead heads an all-female team including heads of product, data and integration. Pretty impressive when you consider that women only hold 20–21% of senior IT and technology roles in UK companies.8
Nuanced support
The sector has seen numerous initiatives to address the unique needs of female business travellers since the early 1990’s. And yet, in 2023 71% of female business travellers said travelling for work as a woman is less safe than travelling as a man.9
So, we need to provide the right level of nuanced support, from pushing travel options with enhanced safety features, to offering flexible scheduling options, access to women-friendly amenities and personalised travel planning.
By embedding a culture of inclusion into our business, our teams are better equipped to understand the personal needs of our clients’ travellers too.
Our reservations teams’ knowledge of destinations with supportive business cultures comes to the fore when making travel arrangements, especially around secure transportation and well-lit accommodation in safe areas.
Setting the standard
Positive discrimination is an active strategy for us. It breaks down barriers, increases diversity, can inspire junior team members and creates more opportunities for women.
We offer flexible working conditions and a number of other programmes that enable our people to balance professional and personal responsibilities effectively. We actively develop our teams by running mentorship programmes and leadership workshops.
Taking our cue from International Women’s Day, at Take2Eton we like to think we are accelerating the action too. If you’d like to discover more, talk to us today.
Pictured above: some of the many women of Take2Eton Group
1 https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
2 Glasgow University, Leicester University – reported in The Times
3 McKinsey
4 GBTA – 2023 figures ; C&M Travel Recruitment
5 Ibid
6 LinkedIn
7 Grant Thornton
8 Tech Talent Charter
9 World Travel Protection
