What impact have successful women made in the U.S. hospitality industry as leaders - Thesis Example

? Impact of successful women leaders in the U.S Hospitality industry This paper discusses the impact successful women leaders have made in the U.S Hospitality industry especially in the last five years. The paper starts with a brief history of women’s position two decades ago and the changes that took place over the time. The various reasons leading to the advancement of women in the hospitality industry and the consequences have been discussed in details. This paper also provides examples of different successful women leaders and organizations who have contributed in the up gradation of the women in this industry. Although women have progressed immensely in the hospitality industry holding key managerial positions but still there are a few challenges which they are facing today and this has been discussed later on. The paper has been concluded by providing solutions for the existing challenges so as to make the future a better place for women to work in. In 1984, Nora Frenkiel had quoted “there is a ‘glass ceiling’ in the middle of the ladder leading to the top, and it cannot be seen. ‘But when women run into it they bump their heads and cannot move beyond it without the women’s movement.” ‘Glass ceiling’ is a term given by the US government in 1970 to define the artificial barriers that restricts a women from taking top managerial jobs (as cited in Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). Women have always been forced to stay behind men in all the industries whether it is business, medicine, politics or hospitality. Although they have been marching ahead in all the fields but still men continue to hold the key managerial positions. The women’s continued struggle to occupy major leadership roles has seen many hurdles and barriers basically due to the traditional culture and history of hospitality industry. However, the last decade has seen a lot of changes and growth prospects for women in this industry. Due to sheer hard work and the inherent qualities a women possesses they have started occupying key management roles and positions in many places like restaurants, hotels, catering firms, and resorts among others. Industry experts have predicted that women’s role in key positions will continue to rise as hospitality industry is struggling to match its steps with the growth and demand in this field (“Women in hospitality”, n.d). In this paper we shall discuss the various factors that have brought a significant impact on the role of women as leaders in the hospitality industry. The main factors that have broken the ‘glass ceiling’ has been the change in the perception of people about women, the education and advancement of women, globalization and advancement of technology, formation of various women coaching institutes, the government and so on. There are many examples of successful women and companies who have helped in bringing about the change in the status of women in the hospitality industry and set an example for others to follow. Before we discuss about them, a brief history about women’s position in the last few decades will help explain what has brought about the changes. If we trace back to history we will find that women have been working only in the role of defacto leadership such as supervising or managing, a family owned business or performing additional responsibilities in the absence of their bosses (“Women in hospitality”, n.d). However, there was an upheaval in the US in the 1970’s by the feminists. Women fought for their rights to gain importance in work places and the allowance to climb the ladder of key roles in management. The hospitality industry also faced similar drawbacks- there were no female chefs, only few female restaurateurs and women were not even given the opportunity to serve as waiting staffs in fine dining places. There was an era when women were not considered for managerial positions and if they attained any such status their pay was much less than men (Les Damed d’ Escoffier International [LDEI], 2011). Although, the beginning of 1980’s saw a change-women were being formally hired into leadership roles. The potential of women was recognized and more and more women began to be employed for key managerial roles. Time has changed and they have been accepted as effective intelligent leaders. Today one can find women filling up most of the major roles at all the levels from being floor supervisors to executive board members (“Women in hospitality”, n.d). Although women are still outnumbered by their male counterparts, they have broken through the once unbreakable ‘glass-ceiling’ and are now showing the way for a new generation of females who wish to hold leadership positions in the hospitality industry. The federal equal employment opportunity commission had done a research of 11 US hotel chains in1998 which revealed that nearly half of the hotel managers are women. In 2000, the ratio of women managers was found to be 46% as compared to 54% of male managers in a sample survey of 470 hotels comprising 5447 individual members (Woods & Viehland, 2000). However, according to the centre for Women’s Business Research in 2004 an estimated 47.7 % (10.6 million) of all privately held businesses in the US are 50% or more owned by women. The businesses owned by women have provided employment to 19 million people across the country and generated $1.5 trillion of sales. Almost two thirds of women, a rate proportionately equal to men, have started their own businesses in the nontraditional industries. Women are more creative and have multitasking abilities as we know; they can handle both family and business at the same time. Women owners of hospitality businesses have created more jobs than the Fortune 500 companies combined. They have broken the “glass ceiling” and moved ahead and given a new meaning to success in the hospitality industry (Fazio, 2008). A series of studies by S.Appelbaum has shown that today’s organizations which are successful have the following characteristics- they are team oriented, agile, flexible and holistic in their views and strategies (as cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.111). As J. Fletcher and his counterparts argued that organizations today require leaders who are noncoercive, comprehensive thinkers who can skillfully build work relationships and manage collaborative teams and these are the behavioral traits and patterns most frequently associated with women’s management (as cited in Woods and Brotherton, 2008, p.112). According to B.M. Bass and Rosener, women also possess transformational leadership qualities which enable them to bring about big changes through their ability to inspire a sense of objective and a particular vision in others (as cited in Woods and Brotherton, 2008, p.112). Hospitality is an industry where the characteristics of a leader required is self direction and self leadership which a woman undoubtedly possesses in words of Sims and Lorenzi (as cited in Woods and Brotherton, 2008, p.112). A study by A.Eagle and B.Johnson (1990) had shown that women gave equal importance to interpersonal relationship as well as task accomplishment and tend to emphasize more on their works. Research by J.Brownell supports the above point and adds that women are more participative and consultative than their male competitors. They have shown more effective communication and people management skills (as cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.112). Annette Fazio (2008) stated that women do a lot of research before taking any step and ensures that all job will be done in the correct manner unlike men who give affirmation first and then do research. Women never boast about their work and are modest with their accomplishments as compared to men. It has been wrongly assumed that women can’t work but in reality it is just the opposite. According to Fazio (2008), women have the natural ability in networking, are highly competent and have excellent communication skills. These are the qualities which a leader needs to possess in the hospitality business and so women fit the perfect domain for major managerial roles. All hospitality businesses have started realizing women’s potential to handle top jobs and hence started mentoring programs to enhance women’s advancement (Fazio, 2008). Most of the researchers like Fagenson and Scandura have stated that mentoring programs and all-women coaching programs have extremely helped women in making a significant difference to their career advancement. Mentoring programs are workshops where junior colleagues receive support and coaching from their senior executives. This has led to an enhancement in “job performance, pay, promotion, and career development and employee satisfaction” (as cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.118). A research revealed that women require good mentors to excel as they not only act as a role model for their juniors, also help them to expand their social network, adapt themselves to the organization’s rules and beliefs and most importantly play a major role in recommending their juniors when major company decisions are made (Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.118). All women coaching programs and networking opportunities have helped women in developing and strengthening their leadership skills. These programs aim at letting woman realize her inner strength and weaknesses. They help a woman in increasing her social network, give a chance to test her ability and provide solutions to similar problems. They provide unlimited strength and help to women to overcome their limitations. Many such coaching programs have been initiated by different groups of women in the food industry which help their gender through services like workshops, keynote speakers, networking events and mentoring (Davenport, 2008). These programs have played a major role in the advancement of women in the hospitality industry. On 31st March 2011, Marriott International, Inc. was honored by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) as one of the top 50 companies for women in 2011. It has recruited women leaders in a big way and today one can see women from being a president of a major operating division to a global leader of sales and revenue management in the hotel. Apart from these significant roles they also hold responsibility for most of the profitable branches of the hotel and two of them are members of the Marriott’s board room. As Eileen MacElroy, Area Vice President for the Eastern Region at Marriott said, “Proven ability to drive results in a variety of diverse roles with the company has helped me grow my career.” Woman advancement programs at the Marriott has always focused on leadership and advancement, networking and mentoring as well as workforce effectiveness (“Marriott opens doors for women leaders”, 2011). Another company, Sodexo, a world leader in food service and facilities management was awarded with the prestigious Jackie B. Trujillo SOAR Award by the Women’s Food service forum in Chicago for supporting women and advancing women leaders. It worked towards strengthening the role of women in its company by providing opportunities for the elevation of women leaders in the food service sector. They created a culture whereby “female employees were encouraged and supported to seek and achieve their highest potential”. They have implemented programs and initiatives that help women advance in their career. As a result today they have employed U.S based women who form 57% of their workforce and 18% of the ‘C’ positions are held by women. They have truly done a lot in the advancement of women and set an example for others to follow (“Sodexo honored for supporting and advancing woman leaders”, 2011). Globalization and advancement in technology in the hospitality industry has also played a major role in the enhancement of a women’s career revealed Baum. Today, a manager doesn’t only need a complete knowhow of this field but should also have the capability to work together with different individuals regardless of their culture, spatial and time differences (cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.122). Nowadays, as multinational companies are looking for employees who have a global understanding and have excellent interpersonal skills; women fit their bill appropriately and hence are in demand for key positions over here, argued Linchan. He further added that women have all the qualifications required to serve the hospitality industry internationally –they have the ability to enhance teamwork, good listening skills, patience to handle different situations and treat people equally in spite of cultural and thought differences (cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.122). There are various examples of successful women leaders who have helped immensely in the advancement of women in the hospitality industry. Denise Fugo’s story, President and Founder of Sammy’s restaurants, is one to be talked about. She served as a cashier of Burger King for the initial 15 years of her career and later on held a number of waitressing jobs. Although when she saw that there was no scope of advancement in her career she opened her own night club with her husband. Fortunately, the night club soon turned into an award winning fine dining restaurant and after that there was no looking back. She went to open seven restaurants and night clubs in the Chicago area. Today Fugo plays a major role in the administration of the National Restaurant Association. Her achievements have inspired the younger generation and has given a new direction to a woman’s career (“Women in hospitality”, n.d). Mark K. Mahoney, President of Howard Johnson Division Cedant Corp. too has a success story behind her. She had started her career in marketing but later on shifted to hospitality. She has been working in this industry for the past 23 years, was gradually advanced to the role of a manager and today she heads the Howard Johnson brand due to sheer hard work. During her career, her main objectives have been recruiting women to key managerial roles and also to help mothers maintain their work and family balance. Mahoney has helped many women to achieve their ambition of holding top roles and thus set an example for her female counterparts that hard work and sacrifices duly pay off (“Women in hospitality”, n.d). Social and demographic trends have led to the change in the perception of the society. The increase in the women’s workforce and fall in the fertility rate has pushed up the demand for more skilled females thereby affecting the number of female workers in the market. The government has also played a major role in removing gender differences and inequality. It has achieved success by implementing various policies and programs to create a sense of equality among the younger generation of males and females (Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). Many professional organizations have been formed by groups of women to provide talented and career oriented women with training and support as well as networking and mentoring opportunities. An international association Les Damed d’ Escoffier International (LDEI) initiated by a group of women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality with the aim to educate and train women to become leaders. Carol Brock, then Sunday food editor at the New York Daily News started this association along with five other influential women food professionals: Mary Lyons, marketing and communications director, Foods and Wines from France; Elayne Kleeman, creator of the first U.S. wine auction at Heublein; Helene Bennett, executive director, Wine and Food Society; Beverly Barbour, an international education, marketing and public relations professional, and Ella Elvin, food editor, New York Daily News (LDEI, 2009). LDEI (2009) has till date has raised and awarded more than $4 million culinary scholarships to deserving women. Through various projects it has helped bring about the change in the destiny of in the hospitality industry. Today women have become a major part of the hospitality mainstream and are working neck to neck as leaders with men. Thus working in partnership with major associations’ successful women leaders has helped the younger generation, spread knowledge of achievements and contributions made by in the hospitality industry. Even though women have successfully climbed the ladder of leadership in a big way they have been unable to break the ‘glass ceiling’ completely. There are still many hindrances towards this upwards movement. The challenges, according to Hicks, include organization based stereotypes and women’s personal decision regarding her career and family. It has been often found that female managers are eluded from mentoring opportunities by senior executives. Gender based discrimination still exist between male and female in all the organizations till date. Women are considered to be soft, less motivated and loyal than their male counterparts. Due to continuous family issues like maternity leave, child care they are considered to be effective leaders on whom an organization can depend. Women often face the trauma of balancing between her family and work which has a big effect on her ability to make advancement in her career (as cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.117). Another major obstacle according to Linchan is the existence of old boy’s network. This network has been broken to an extent but not completely. To remove this barrier completely women should be allowed to interact with both men and women formally and informally. Once men begin working with women, they start recognizing women as individuals rather than an ‘inferior sex’. In big organizations in US, in both public as well as private sector it has been found that senior male executives are least interested in mentoring their junior female colleagues. He further added that they have a mindset that females cannot work hard and are incapable of taking decisions as compared to their female counterparts. A woman is always left alone and allowed to mingle with the rest of the staff due to gender differences. In reality it has been found that even if women are recruited as managers or key positions their pay is lower than men in the same position (as cited in Woods & Brotherton, 2008, p.117). Conclusion The study of the present scenario of women in hospitality industry both as a general manager and as an executive has revealed that there are different barriers or ‘glass barriers’ preventing women from reaching top executive positions. Therefore it is necessary to further formulate plans and strategies to provide women an appropriate environment to work in. Another important step that needs to be taken is to make the culture and structure of the organization more conducive and sensitive to gender equality concept and practice. Career plans for women within an enterprise has always them in their advancement (Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). J. Brownell had explained that the hospitality industry has always been visualized as a place with wine glasses, whirlpools, bathrobes and breakfast trays. It has been symbolized as avenue of romance, of feeling good and of sensuality. As, the main emphasis over here is on sociability and attractiveness, a lot depends on an employee’s gender ability. For this reason, a ‘sexualized’ working environment’ will prove to be helpful for gaining popularity and success. This can be achieved only if good communication level exists between men and women employees. The symbolic/culture approach was used to find specific communication behaviors and to find strategies to solve the communication problems between men and women in the hospitality workplace (as cited in Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). There are various steps a woman needs to take to advance her career. As Andrea Davenport, director of recruiting for ‘Ninety Nine Restaurants, said that she has achieved success through learning on a continuous basis and building relations as opposed to titles or resumes. According to her a woman needs to realize her full potential, do her work whole heartedly in order to achieve success. Also, a women by making a commitment to learn, having a mentor, adjusting to the company’s culture and developing leadership skills will go a long way in succeeding her to become a leader (Davenport, 2008). Although women are still facing challenges all over the world to attain leadership status in different organizations, the percentage of women among the highest paid corporate officers in the hospitality industry in U.S has increased to a large extent. According to a recent research, the number of females obtaining key managerial posts and as directors has gone up tremendously in the last decade (Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). The changes in the various factors discussed above have brought about the revolution in the career of women. Successful women have also contributed in the advancement of the new generation of females. Today we can say women have broken the ‘glass carrier’ and are running neck to neck with their male counterparts in the race to become leaders of tomorrow. References Dass, Sarjiwan, Singh, Ajay & Singh, Reena (2011, Feb. 05). Women in Hospitality industry: Can women reach the top breaking through glass ceiling in management. My Articles. Retrieved from http://sarjiwanpublications.blogspot.com/2011/02/women-in-hospitality industry-can women.html Davenport, Andrea (2008, Jan. 15). Tips for Maintaining Great Female Leaders. WomeninHospitality.com. Retrieved from http://www.womeninhospitality.com/article- library/2008-01-15-Tips-for-Maintaining-Great-Female.html Fazio, Annette (2008, Jan. 15). Women In Business: Thoughts from “The Restaurant Diva”. WomeninHospitality.com. Retrieved from http://www.womeninhospitality.com/article- library/2008-01-15-Women-In-Business-Thoughts.html “LDEI” (2009). Les Dames d’ Escoffier International: About us. Retrieved from http://www.ldei.org/index.php?com=about us “Marriott opens doors for female leaders” (2011, March 31). Breaking Travel News. Retrieved from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breakingtravelnews/news/hotel/~3/qUOxm3Nxz98/ marriott-opens-doors-for-women-leaders “Sodexo honored for supporting and advancing woman leaders” (2008, May 27). Sodexo. Retrieved from http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/newsroom/press/wffsoarawardo52708.asp “Women in Hospitality: Rich History, Bright Future” (n.d). Hcareers. Retrieved from http://www.hcareers.com/us/resourcecenter/tabid/306/articleid/266/default.aspx Wood, Roy C. & Brotherton, Bob (2008). Women’s career development in hospitality. In The Sage handbook of Hospitality Management (Women in Hospitality, p.112-122). Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=MF6x6G_i9BkC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=WO MEN+IN+HOSPITALITY+SAGE+HANDBOOK&source=bl&ots=idUYjkQusd&sig= MB9qheiZdwCeERT3ijUrTdQJTOY&hl=en&ei=kZ4WTqGMHomJmQWG- Ij3Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepag e&q=WOMEN%20IN%20HOSPITALITY%20SAGE%20HANDBOOK&f=false Woods, Robert H. & Veihland, Douglas (2000, October). Women in Hotel Management: Gradual Progress, Uncertain Prospects [Abstract]. Sage Journal Online: Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 41 (5), 51-54. Retrieved from http://cqx.sagepub.com/content/41/5/51.abstract Read More