Episode 63- Alessandra Alonso, Women in Travel CIC

Travel

Feb 9

Women make up a large majority of travelers and the majority share of the tourism workforce. As the Travel industry rebuilds, women are stepping up to improve their skills and grow within the travel sector.

The future of travel is women because they are the ones often engaging in their communities and are engaged in networks that are critical for the success in the travel space today.

Support from other women in the industry is something Christine values, especially in a world where gender bias is still a frequent experience for many female travelers. Travel company CEOs are pushing the boundaries to locals calling the shots in the field.

Christine’s guest is a trailblazer in the travel sector and an expert in gender empowerment and mentoring.

Alessandra Alonso is the pluri-nominated, award-winning founder and MD of Women in Travel cic and a professional with 20 years of experience in travel and tourism. Alessandra started her career as a trainee in Tourism at the European Commission and later gained senior roles in companies including The World Travel & Tourism Council and KPMG.

She subsequently pursued her passion for supporting women and diversity more generally by setting up consultancy Shine and co-founding the Shine Awards for Women’s Achievement in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality in 2004.

Alessandra is a keynote speaker and regular contributor to publications. She was awarded the JourneyWoman Award in 2021 for her lifetime dedication to gender empowerment.

She has been named one of 9 women transforming travel by the Matador Network; one of 50 ‘most important women in travel’ by Wonderlust Travel and recently completed the Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from the University of South Florida.

Join Christine for her soulful conversation with Alessandra Alonso.

In this episode, Christine and Alessandra discuss:

Alessandra’s journey in travel

How Alessandra became the catalyst for women's empowerment in the international travel and tourism sector
Why Alessandra is so passionate about supporting women in travel
Why travel centers around women and community
Ways of empowering women and helping them find purpose
Why mentorship gives women the opportunity to develop new skills within the travel community
How to support women in a male dominated space

Resources & Links Mentioned in the Episode

Learn more about Alessandra and Women in Travel at https://www.womenintravelcic.com

Follow Alessandra Alonso on your favorite social platform:

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About the Soul Of Travel Podcast

Soul of Travel honors the passion and dedication of the people making a positive impact in tourism. In each episode, you’ll hear the story of women who are industry professionals and seasoned travelers and community leaders who know travel is more than a vacation. It is an opportunity for personal awareness and it is a vehicle for change. We are thought leaders, action takers, and heart-centered change makers.

The guests work in all sectors of the tourism industry. You'll hear from adventure-based community organizations, social impact businesses, travel photographers and videographers, tourism boards and destination marketing organizations, and transformational travel experts. They all honor the idea that travel is more than a vacation and focus on sustainable travel, eco-travel, community-based tourism, and intentional travel.

These conversations are meant to educate, inspire and create community. They are directed to new travelers and seasoned travelers, as well as industry professionals and those who are curious about a career in travel.

If you want to learn about new destinations, types of travel, or how to be more intentional or live life on purpose, join Christine Winebrenner Irick for soulful conversations with her community of fellow travelers exploring the heart, the mind, and the globe. These conversations highlight what tourism really means for the world.

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Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor.) Alessandra Alonso (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing and production by Rayna Booth.

Transcript

KEYWORDS

travel, women, tourism, community, mentoring, sector, opportunity, conversation, people, experience, support, created, offer, absolutely, industry, lotus, male, network, inspired, tours

Christine Winebrenner Irick 00:08

Thank you for joining me for soulful conversations with my community of fellow travelers, exploring the heart, the mind and the globe. These conversations highlight what travel really means for the world. Soul Of Travel honors the passion and dedication of the people making a positive impact in tourism. Each week, I'll be speaking to women who are tourism professionals, world travelers and leaders in their communities will explore how travel has changed them and how that has rippled out and inspired them to change the world. These conversations are as much about travel as they are about passion, and living life with purpose, chasing dreams, building businesses, and having the desire to make the world a better place. This is a community of people who no travel is more than a vacation. It is an opportunity for personal awareness, and it is a vehicle for change. We are thought leaders, action takers, and heart centered changemakers I'm Christine Winebrenner Irick. And this is the Soul Of Travel.

Alessandra Alonso is the puri nominated award winning founder of Women in Travel CIC and a professional with 20 years of experience in travel and tourism. Alessandra started her career as a trainee in tourism at the European Commission, and later gained senior roles in companies including the World Travel and Tourism Council and KPMG. She subsequently pursued her passion for supporting women and diversity more generally by setting up the consultancy shine and co-founding the shine awards for women's achievement in travel, tourism and hospitality in 2004.

Recognized as a trailblazer in the sector and as an expert in gender empowerment and mentoring. Alessandra Alonso is also a keynote speaker and regular contributor to publications, she was awarded the journey women award in 2021 for her lifetime dedication to gender empowerment. She has been named one of nine women transforming travel by the matador network, one of 50 most important women in travel by wanderlust travel, and recently completed a certificate in diversity and inclusion from the University of South Florida.

You can easily see why she was on my dream guest list for solo travel. And I really enjoyed talking with her about her journey in this industry and the work that she does to be a catalyst for women's empowerment in the international travel and tourism sector. She also shared about women and travel's new community program, the male ally ship network, and why that is so important to support the work she's already doing. I greatly appreciated this time to connect with her. Join me now for my soulful conversation with Alessandra Alonso. Welcome to Soul of Travel.

I'm so happy today to be joined from Italy today by Alessandra Alonso. She is the founder of Women in travel. And this is a conversation I've just been patiently and anxiously awaiting for for about a year. So I'm so happy that we're finally able to sit down and make this work. And for those of you listening, women in travel is a UK based award winning social enterprise dedicated to empowering all women using travel tourism and hospitality as a force for good. And for those of you that are regular listeners, you know, that is like singing the song of my heart. And that is part of why this conversation is so important, I think to have on solid travels. So welcome today to the show today.

04:15

Thank you very much, Christine. Thank you for having me. I'm really honored and delighted to be here.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 04:21

Thank you. Well to begin the conversation. I would love for you just to take a moment to introduce yourself to our listeners. Tell us a little bit about women in travel and your background. And then we'll move forward from there.

04:36

Yes, sure. So, Alessandra, as you already said, and I am the founder of Women in Travel CIC women who travel is a social enterprise. Our mission is to economically empower women using travel tourism, hospitality as a force for good. My background is in travel and tourism. I have over 20 yours in the sector. And for the best part of it, I, or at least a half of it, I have been working to support women and women empowerment. I started at the European Commission as a trainee, I hadn't chosen tourismus often seems to be the case with this sector, but ended up in tourism because I was passionate about Europe and European ideals and both languages.

So someone for two that tourism would be a good sector for me. And interesting enough, I actually ended up working for a small unit that you won't be surprised was understaffed and under resource. But that meant that I got to learn a lot, because even though I was a trainee, they needed me to do proper work. And so I really enjoyed it. And when I went back to London as I was originally, I actually moved on to the World Travel and Tourism Council, and then to KPMG, where I practically set up the tourist division in the UK and then did a lot of work in Europe as well. And it is around that time that I really started to realize the sparsity of women. So, you know, I was working with many companies I was working in the cities with in a fairly male dominated environment.

And I very quickly realized that I was often the only woman in the room, although, as you know, in fact, the majority of the sort of global workforce in tourism and travel and hospitality across the sector is female. So looking into that, I really began to understand that the sector was rife with inequality and disparity, and eventually set up the very first gender consulting in travel and tourism called shine. And also the shine awards for women achievement in travel, tourism and hospitality, which I co founded back in 2004.

And I actually, at that point, you've got really the opportunity to understand how much work was there to be done, you know, in the in this arena, when sort of we I moved on from shine and the awards were taken over by the sector Skills Council, I thought that there wouldn't be further need because the sector was becoming a lot more aware of what was going on in terms of gender diversity and inequality. More women were coming up the ranks for real quickly. It was sort of told by the many women I used to meet that, actually, there was a lot of need still, for the support and the mentoring and the coaching that we were doing, we shine. And so eventually, I started to run events. And because this event brought together an amazing community of women, and really showed the power of collaboration, the power of sisterhood, the power of getting women together, I decided to eventually set up women in travel.

But this time, I also thought that I wanted to really focus on the women who were nowhere near the table. So yes, there are a lot of women who still feel perhaps they are not fully contributing, they're not having the full opportunity to contribute to the sex. But actually, there is a huge pool of women who are totally invisible, they don't even know that the table is out there, and that they can access, they can eventually have a seat. So nowadays, women in trouble as a social enterprise works with quite a broad range of women.

And they go from the highly vulnerable and marginalized, those who might have experienced, you know, modern slavery or domestic abuse, or, you know, who are refugees, and really need support with access and network and confidence in the first place, all the way to women who feel they are underrepresented, or perhaps they don't have any support in their country, or you know where they are. So we try and support quite a range of women. And we are now five years old. We are going to publish our first impact report this year. And I'm really excited about that. And we've had some success, you know, I am proud of what we have achieved. We have a small team, you know, the impact is high. And I think it's all to do with the fact that women really work with the community for the community. And when a woman earns, many more people benefit.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 09:46

Thank you so much for beginning to paint that picture of women and travel and the work that you do. I think that's so important. I think for people who are not in the industry and even some people in the industry to understand In the layers of tourism, and who's involved and what it takes to make travel and tourism happen, and I think I've talked a little bit about this on previous conversations, but as travel consumers, we just see the top of this pyramid and the peak of these experiences.

And we don't really understand necessarily what it takes to make every type of experience happen. And there's workers at all levels of the sector that are contributing to that. And like you said, many of those workers are women, and especially as you kind of move out from the moment have you experienced those workers become more invisible. And so like you said, these women sometimes don't even know that they're a part of this industry, because they feel and are perceived to be so far removed from the Indian experience. So I really believe that

10:55

I may add Christine to this, because I think it's touching upon a very important point. And that's exactly the point, I think, what we find, especially with with the most marginalized is that there is very little understanding of the industry and what's involved, there is very little understanding of the opportunities that the industry makes available, and what his you know, employment or work in industry looks like, and actually, you know, we talk about women, but of course, you know, over the years, we've increased our reach in terms of diversity and inclusion.

And that's really what we focus on, you know, our, our focus is women, but we absolutely do not want to leave anyone behind. And women really are at the heart of the community, they are the hosts they get. And, you know, I think that's also the reason why the sector resonates so much. Because ultimately, we are opening our homes, we are offering food, and nevermind where you are in the world or your culture, women tend to have their role. So there is also an intuitive understanding of the sector. But as a sector, we definitely need to do better not only comes to including and shining a light on everyone, we can also do better under the sort of in the aspect of having a cohesive approach to, you know, to talent to management, cohesive and inclusive to making sure that everybody can reach their full potential because the sector needs all the talent it can get.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 12:43

Let's just remind me of an experience I had at a conference that I attended in Africa, in Uganda, probably, oh, gosh, I don't even know I think probably 20 years ago, 15 years ago. And that aside, there to kind of talk about what tourism can do. And this was in the lens of tourism being a vehicle for peace. And I think very much in the same vein of this is how can it be a force for good, right? Like how can travel, do something beyond this idea of just creating experiences, or allowing for vacation and relaxation? Like what else is there in the context of travel. And I remember sitting in this group of people, where we were meant to be coming and sharing our insights and wisdom. And as I sat at this group of in this group amongst this community I like so I quickly realized that I wasn't the leader in the room, I wasn't the leader in the space, I wasn't the person that had any of the answers for the things that they were facing.

And it was a very humbling moment, but also a really empowering moment to know I mean, that this was literally a table, right? So I was like, these are the people who need to be at the table for these conversations, and the power and the passion of the conversations, the engagement. And that sense of community was something that has stayed with me for the rest of my career since then, it was so powerful. And so I really love what you're talking about how we need to, I think we make a lot of assumptions about what people can contribute based on their economic status, or like you've said, making sure that we're being inclusive and not creating those levels of ranking of people based on an assumed authority or education or, you know, like really dismissing all of those stereotypes and having a authentic connective conversation and then saying, What can tourism do? What can we allow for it to do?

What do you need it to do for you? And then how can you be a player in that and I think women in travel has really allowed for people to have those conversations, bring them together, we'll talk later about some of the mentorship that you offer. But I think that's kind of where this starts is, like you said, bringing everyone to the table. And I just really want to invite people who don't have a broader experience in the industry to understand who that means. And like you said, you know, it might be women in a village who are welcoming people into their homes and telling the stories of their communities like that is a for me, that's everything in travel. But that's a really critical piece to making. Travel is valuable, I think. And it might be something that's overlooked in a mainstream picture of tourism.

15:47

Absolutely. And I mean, we had some experience of that, because we started to develop some tours in conjunction with intrepid last year. And we identified and then trained three ladies who we met through our program, who came from sort of a multicultural background, quite disadvantaged, quite marginalized, and created tours that offer an insight into their community, although they are London based, and as you know, women in travel are London based. And what they did, which I think is absolutely amazing is this ability of offering insights into their community into their culture and tradition, breaking down the silo creating connection, while actually delivering tours that are around the corner for many of us. You can experience European tradition in Shepherds Bush market in West London, or, you know, the Balkans culture in the south.

And what that tells you is that the power of telling your story and the power of sort of a narrative that it's about you and your community, and you don't necessarily have to be on, you know, on a long haul flight, to do that if you empower the people to tell their stories. And I think that feeling of being able to share your culture, your tradition, your personal stories and insights is really powerful. It's powerful for the visitor and it's powerful for, you know, the ladies who deliver the experience, because it reconnects them with their own community, and it benefits their community in a way that perhaps normally doesn't happen.

You know, I guess that it's very hard for you know, if I think about Londoners, I wonder how many know about the Ethiopian community and yet, you know, London being such a multicultural city, it is really possible to have this true and genuine experience and understand and get insights that are phenomenally interesting, relevant and as they were saying, empowering.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 18:20

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Now back to our soulful conversation.

I think I love that the pandemic has kind of opened those doors to us or made us look in our backyard for these experiences and stories and connections that we have, like you said kind of overlooked. We might not know that they exist and yet there they really should be one of the most important parts of what our community stands for because a lot of you know most cities have a multicultural You know, base, they have all of these things that they could be drawing on. And instead of kind of making this more homogenized society, like we can be celebrating these things that that we have to offer within our communities. And I think that adds, like you said, it's very empowering to the storyteller adds a real sense of value and purpose to preserving that cultural identity and being really proud of where we come from. And so I think that's a part of what travel allows for, in general, but I love looking at it, like you said, kind of on this more immediate scale where we don't have to see so far away to have these experiences. And so I just, I think that that's been a really fun thing to witness all over the globe is people exploring their own cultures and seeing what already exists there.

Yeah. Well, we started talking about why you created the company. I wanted to talk a little bit more about or about the social enterprise sorry, why you really felt it was so important to support this industry and women in specific I mean, I feel like and much like you said, people land in travel, by happenstance often, but this why that we have that brings us here supporting women, I know this has been like, I feel like I was imprinted with that. Why as well. I remember being a child and like already kind of being drafting this mission, right. Like, I knew this was my purpose. But I didn't know anything about what that meant. But I wonder how when did you really connect that within your own journey that you knew this is what you were going to do?

21:51

Yeah, I love this question. Thank you, Christine. I think that I enjoyed traveling. And I was lucky enough to grow up in a family of people who also enjoyed traveling mostly in Europe, mostly by car at the time. But, you know, discovery, other cultures and exploring was part of my sort of family DNA. I think that what I discovered later on in life, and sort of went as I grew older, was my social mission. And I guess that I certainly sort of my passion is certainly supporting women, my passion is supporting women who can sort of realize their potential fully contribute to society, I hate the fact that for a variety of reasons, there are still so many women and sort of non binary individuals out there who are almost wasting their gifts, because of a lack of opportunity. There is nobody to ask them the question, what would you like to do? And how far do you want to go?

And I think Travel and Tourism and Hospitality. I come from the WT etc. School and therefore think about the sector quite holistically, provides a fantastic opportunity, for impact to be created for the social impact for mobility for opportunities to be created. And the reason is, first and foremost, because as a sector, there are very, very low barriers to entry. Now, of course, that also means that perhaps the pay and at the starting level, is quite sometimes low compared to other sectors, but at the same time, it is also true that you can progress quite fast. So what we find is that women who wouldn't normally, you know, have the confidence or the courage perhaps to approach other sector because they don't feel they have the qualification, and can quickly drum up the courage and the confidence to think actually, I can do this, first of all, because I know what it means to welcome guests and to host and secondly, because actually, I can start in a way that is not too daunting for me.

And then I can work my way up. So a lot of the opportunities that we see sort of being taken by our beneficiary, particularly the one more marginalized, that pretty much at entry level, but there are some fantastic stories of success promotion of women sort of who have been sort of given the opportunity to start somewhere and through that first opportunity, then fly and shine and then go on to develop further to perhaps they move on maybe they had they discover sort of their full passion, but that's you know that the sector is quite unique in this way.

Because you If you look at others, they will put many more barriers to entry. On the one hand, you have a lot of women in the sector, on the other talent is scarce. And there is a word for tiling going on. So, you know, let's try and create opportunities for matching and meeting the needs of the sector, while at the same time giving, you know, women opportunities. And the result is that, you know, you create really more a workforce that is more engaged, more loyal, and, you know, women in particular, once sort of, they get the opportunity, and they see that the employer believes in them, you know, there is a real desire to succeed

Christine Winebrenner Irick 25:45

within what you were saying just brought about so many memories of me in travel, being able to witness that. And I think, again, it's maybe not as easy to understand if you haven't had that opportunity. But I remember, I work a lot with artists and groups when I travel, that's who I like to connect with and bring my women's groups to meet because I feel like it allows understanding of culture and connection. But it also really brings in this unique, rich perspective. And I was sitting in a circle with a group of artisans. And we were drawing our why. And we wanted to share, like, what is our why and why we're committed to what we want to do. And there was a young girl who had just joined this artists and cooperative and she walked in just a few minutes late and sat down as we were drawing these pictures, and then we all got up and shared it.

And there was a translator for those that couldn't speak English to help share the stories. And you saw when she walked in, like she was kind of nervous, maybe a little bit intimidated, because there were foreigners and people she didn't recognize. And she also didn't fully understand where she was yet because she had just kind of started this training program. And you've started to see, as people were going through this process and sharing their why like how her body energy shifted, just being a part of that circle. And you could feel her realizing what she stepped into and all of the opportunity that started laying itself in front of her, just like over the course of this hour. And it was so powerful to just see this shift of possibility and witness it through her eyes. And then two days later, I happened to meet her on the street. And she gave me a big hug. And it was as if the sense of belonging and possibility that she had was like wrapped around her. And it was just amazing.

And it's not. It's not always the largest action, but it creates the largest ripple. Absolutely. I think like you said women are so engaged in their community that she's probably going to go and tell, you know, her sisters or friends and community about this experience. And then that's where I think we really see women in travel, especially at that level creating such a dynamic shift and impact.

28:08

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, ultimately, you know, we are there to help our community of beneficiaries identify income generation opportunities and employment opportunities through travel, tourism and hospitality, one of the things that we always do, and that sort of your story kind of reminded me of is the coming together in the mentoring. And whether it's, you know, mentoring group, mentoring circolo, one to one, mentoring. So at the heart of everything that we do, and what you find is that when women come together, you know, there is this spark, this magic that is being created, because their focus is never on themselves. It's always about supporting and helping others.

So what you get is, How can I help you? Where do you hurt? And how can I support you with your challenges or your issues. And so I think immediately there is this kind of, you know, sisterhood being created. And it kind of provides a network, it provides support, and it provides a source of inspiration and belonging, and as you were saying, So I absolutely am not surprised by what you've just described, because that's what we experienced in our mentoring circle. And in sort of mentoring interventions all the time. And often, although, you know, the training program that we run, sort of provides the women with some valuable skills, often the things that really sticks with them in the mentoring.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 29:50

Thank you for bringing that up, because that is definitely I think that's actually how I first was connected to you and during the pandemic the amount of mentoring that, that women in travel shifted to create was immense. And watching that unfold over the internet and seeing what was happening. I was really like, what is this community?

This is incredible. I believe that mentoring is like, the absolutely most important thing that we need in our lives, whether it's in businesses, personally or professionally. That's how humans can like, share and connect. And so I was really excited to see that platform. But I would love for you to talk a little bit more about mentorship, and especially what that meant during or has meant during this continued pandemic.

30:42

Yeah, sure. So mentoring is really at the heart of what we do when I infect mentoring sort of became the the core area of work for shine, when I co found it shine all those years ago, 2004. And I think that at the time, especially here in the UK, mentoring was something that the industry would do, but possibly very informally, and possibly not, sort of in a way that was sort of structured.

And when we interviewed and sort of worked with women, we kept on hearing that mentoring was the one thing that they felt was missing from the training and development that the industry might offer. And that there was a big difference with men who seemed to be regularly mentored, and regularly, perhaps sponsored, or, you know, supported by other peers and by their seniors. So we started to work on mentoring. And in fact, I qualified myself in those days. And I really haven't looked back since, because mentoring has been a constant source of fulfillment, and discovery and appreciation, and really fantastic outcomes for me as a mentor, but also, for those who experience you know, for what I've learned from other during the process of mentoring, because mentoring, it's always a two way relationship. And during the pandemic, we felt that, you know, right at the beginning, there were so many women who, you know, door saying, I feel really upset, or I'm really scared, or after source my job, or I'm about to lose my job, or my income is gone, what do I do next.

And we started to run this mentoring circle, just to try and give some support to tell the women look, you're not on your own, there is a community out here, and you can absolutely be part of it. And it's free, it doesn't cost you anything. And eventually, we actually got some funding to run some more mentoring programs and some more sort of circle, and we haven't really stopped and so we regularly run mentoring, and in and out sort of into companies sometimes outside. And you know, it is a fantastic way for women to come together share their viewpoint and appreciate the Collaborate ask question find answers, without fear of being judged without fear of being sort of deemed inappropriate or stupid, you know, there's no such thing as a stupid question. And in total, sort of confidential in a socially confidential and safe environment. So we are massive believers of mentoring, and what can I say? We are absolutely adamant that is one of the best ways to develop women.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 33:45

Thank you for sharing that. I agree. I just feel like there's just endless opportunities. And like you said, it's such an even exchange. And it's a different dynamic than coaching or business training or like it's so deeply personal, it's much more intimate, and it just allows for this, this great way to connect.

And like you said, during this time, just make it through really, I've been a part of a couple different women's communities. And I think without that, I don't know that I would still be sitting here in history today. I mean, that's been a really rough go, obviously. And so I think that's so important. So I just really appreciate that that component. The other programs that that you offer with women in travel are your employability and entrepreneurship. Would you mind talking a little bit about both of those so our listeners can understand that as well.

34:45

Absolutely. So basically women in travel is based on two pillars. One Pillar is a program and the other one is a community. So the programs are employability where we support sort of mine: marginalized women are women who are vulnerable to find employment. The second one is enterprising, and particularly focusing on the tour guide. And so creating also micro entrepreneurship, which is something that, again, I'm quite passionate about. And I think there's plenty of opportunity and need for it in travel and tourism, and particularly on the sort of women side, and then mentoring coaching that is really pervasive and sort of wraps around everything that we do.

The other side is community. And so the multicultural community, what used to be called the Boehm women in the tribal community, but we have now renamed multicultural because we think it's a much more inclusive terminology. And also the my, the male allyship network, is the other community because we think it's very important to get men to part to be part of this conversation, and to make sure that men are understanding and supportive of sort of gender diversity and inclusion.

So I don't know if this answered exactly what you had to ask me. But the idea is that sort of, we run programs that lead to employment or income generation when it comes to intrapreneurship. And as I was saying, you know, the tour guide is one sector that we are focusing on, because we feel that, you know, across the world tour guiding is done in a very different way.

But there is an opportunity, and a need for, you know, more personal, more local, more, if you like, customized type of tourism, that offer insights and memorable sort of moments and experiences to do with, you know, community and culture that are perhaps different from our own. And those don't require, you know, jumping on a flight, they can be done much closer to home, and therefore, they're also very much of their time. And this fits very well also with a lot of the women that we see, because often the women are juggling a variety of sort of needs, and a variety of sort of situation. So you know, mucking about single household children. So obviously, there'll be, you know, the idea for flexibility. And so, tour guiding, in a way offers the kind of flexibility and the ability to, to run a business on your own terms. So it is quite suitable and appealing to many other beneficiaries that we see.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 37:48

Yeah, I had an interview focused on tour guides, and that the importance and it was such a just, I think, really brilliant, and conversation in an area that we don't focus a lot of very underlooked. Industry, and especially the way you're speaking about it, where where this allows, again, for this storytelling and this connection, when you can bring in local tour guides, who really maybe all they do is talk about their neighborhood, or their region or their village or their community. They don't have to be super specialized. So this allows that entry barrier, like you said to be lower, but it also increases the value of the experience, like tenfold, a hundredfold because of this perspective that they can only offer and I love that that is one of the focuses that you have. Um, I did want to talk a little bit more about the male ally ship network, you briefly mentioned that but I know this is also something especially with my conversations, being women focused talking a lot about gender equality and reducing inequality, that bringing male voices into the conversation is critical to creating that equality. So I would love for you to share a little bit more about your motivation behind that network and what that's offering.

39:18

Sure. So no Alessandra network is something that is sort of relatively new. It was launched before the summer on the back of a round table with about 30 Senior male leaders. That happened during the International Women in travel and tourism Forum, which is our annual event. And I think that there is a desire to sort of be part of the conversation on the part of senior male leaders, I think that there is often an aspect of almost all of, I don't want to say fear but discomfort about getting into Conversation freely, because it is often the case. And, you know, senior leaders are often male, they are often similar to each other, you know, not much diversity there either.

And they tend to feel almost cornered, you know, almost pointed that as the, you know, as the guilty ones. And it was quite liberating, actually, I think, to hear so many of them saying, Oh, I absolutely want to be part of the conversation. And I absolutely want to be of support and help and mentor, a woman because as you know, as you become an ally, you have the opportunity to mentor someone, but actually, I almost see the more value in being mentored by the woman. So there is, again, this two way conversation that opens up opportunity for learning by, you know, yes, you know, from the women on the part of the women, but also on the part of the senior online.

So the idea is that, you know, we come together, we have a network at the moment, it's about 1518, senior leaders, some of them are chief executives, some of them are senior directors, and, you know, they are British, but not only. So it is an international network. And the idea is that, you know, they gain an opportunity to acquire gender intelligence, and understanding. And this understanding is very valuable to them, because being at the top, you know, of some large and sort of international companies, they have often, if you like, left the shop floor, but still want to know, still need to know about, you know, what does it feel like to be a woman in the sector, what does it feel like to be looking for your next opportunity or promotion, or perhaps, you know, you are an intrapreneur, looking to scale up our business.

So, I think that this is a great opportunity to hear from a greater variety of voices, but also to tap into the senior leaders expertise. And it's interesting that, you know, many of the women are saying, I feel that I really like a male perspective, you know, and someone who is that senior and has navigated a career has so much to offer. And so we invite men, male leaders, to become part of this network. And we, we have as an objective this this year 2022, to add another 25, internationally, and then at that point, you know, they become available to mentors. So, the call, it's also for action, it's also for women to think about, you know, sending their sort of request for a mentor. And, and then, you know, seeing what great opportunity may come we have someone who is there to support you, someone who has huge experience in the industry, who might be sitting at the top of a large company, and that, in any case, is dedicated to your goal.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 43:18

So brilliant at this makes me so excited to hear how that has shaped. And I just, I can think of, you know, working in the industry in companies, usually it was a male CEO or CEO. And, and, and really knowing that they've grown up within the industry that they started, perhaps, in a company at the bottom, maybe especially where I worked in adventure travel, they started as these people who were just, you know, explorers and adventurers who were excited about travel, and then all of a sudden, you know, that not all of a sudden, but you know, they work their way as this company grew. So like you said, they have this wealth of experience.

But me as a entry level worker, as a female, there was definitely this barrier that I wasn't allowed to access this wealth of knowledge, even though I was really curious about what their experiences were, you know, what they've learned what what they could see as the future of travel, but there wasn't a space for that connection, where that would be an appropriate dialogue for so many reasons.

I can only imagine. And again, like you said, going both ways. Maybe this person would love to share their experience, but they feel like maybe that's inappropriate to to cross these levels of either gender or roles within a company because of the ways things are structured these days that they can't do that. So I think that I'm just so excited to see what this allows for and growth for both the male allies and the women participating in this group.

44:56

Yeah, absolutely. I think it's creating the platform. is almost, you know, giving the permission to be involved in the conversation. Whereas they might not do for a variety of reason, if you know if the platform hadn't been created, so I'm really grateful to, you know, to the senior leaders who came together who, who thought that this would be a good idea and something they wanted to be involved, because I think it can be very powerful. So I look forward to seeing how it develops in 22. Yeah.

Christine Winebrenner Irick 45:31

Well, thank you so much for everything that you've shared so far, I want to make sure that people know where they can reach out and connect with you. At women in travel, you briefly mentioned the International Women in travel and tourism forum, but if you could share a little bit more about that, and how people can learn more, then I have a few questions at the end.

45:55

Definitely. So I mean, obviously, our website as a point of reference, women in travel cic.com, it's available, people should feel free to contact me, Alexandra women in travel cic.com. And there are, you know, we have two large events or two bigger events that we run yearly.

One is the International Women in travel and tourism forum that we hope will take place in person this year for the third time. And it's likely to happen before the summer. Unfortunately, we don't have a fixed date yet that I can announce, but watch this space is going to be soon. And then the other event is the multicultural summit that tends to take place in October, during Black History Month here in the UK. But you know, the Mentoring Circles are open.

Networking is also happening on a regular basis. And there are several opportunities to get involved. If you are unemployed, and you're listening to this, please get in touch. If you are a woman and you're thinking I could benefit from mentoring or from a male ally, she said a relationship please get in touch and we'll do our best to support you. Yeah,

Christine Winebrenner Irick 47:14

Thank you so so much. This has just been such a delightful conversation. I always end my conversations with a series of rapid fire questions and they're more based on you as a traveler so people get to know you. So we'll end with those seven questions. The first is what is your favorite book or movie that offers you a travel escape or inspires adventure?