Encouraging News on Women Gaining Ground in Leadership Roles Within the Travel Technology Industry

The gender gap in leadership within the travel technology industry is gradually narrowing, with a noticeable increase in the recruitment of women into leadership positions across the sector, particularly within the airline industry.

For instance, in May this year, Ariane Gorin became the CEO of the Expedia Group. In the aviation sector, several women have recently taken on top roles: Joanna Geraghty assumed the role of CEO at JetBlue this year, following Vanessa Hudson’s appointment as CEO of Qantas last year, Marjan Rintel’s leadership at KLM, and Güliz Öztürk’s position as CEO of Pegasus Airlines since 2022.

Efforts have also been made to elevate the profile of women in the industry. In August, the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance introduced a speaker roster aimed at increasing the presence of diverse voices at industry events.

Nina Kleaveland, founder and CEO of Lanyard and creator of the Female Founders in Hospitality group, expressed optimism, stating that progress is being made but acknowledging that it remains slow.

Recent data highlights the incremental change occurring within the industry. A survey conducted by Belvera Partners, a public relations firm representing numerous brands, in July revealed that 15.6% of leadership positions—comprising CEOs of top brands and other prominent roles in the B2B travel technology sector—are now held by women. This marks a slight increase from a similar survey in 2021 as efforts continue to advance gender equality in the sector.

Belvera Partners has developed a “metro-style map” that features over 400 B2B travel technology operators, including companies involved in travel management, air travel technology, accommodation distribution, car rentals, experiences, and short-term rentals, as well as journalists, lobbying groups, and celebrities.

Roman Townsend, managing director of Belvera Partners, explained that while the map was initially a light-hearted attempt to clarify the industry’s landscape, it has evolved into a serious tool for tracking progress. Using this map, combined with data from LinkedIn to determine gender, Belvera concluded that 15.6% of industry leaders are women. This figure represents an improvement from the 12.4% recorded in the 2021 survey.

Sector analysis by Belvera showed that lobbying groups have the highest proportion of female leaders, at 36%, while car rental companies have the lowest, at 10%.

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