TTG November 2018:

Jeannette Linfoot, board-level business advisor and everywoman in Travel Awards judge, explains:

It’s hard to believe that in 2018 – one hundred years since the first women got the right to vote in the UK – we are still talking about the lack of gender diversity at senior levels and in the boardroom.

Women make up nearly 70% of the workforce in the travel industry, yet there is a marked under-representation of women in senior positions: less than 40% of all managerial positions, less than 20% of general management roles and a meagre 5-8% of board positions.

And yet the recent Women in Hospitality, Travel & Leisure report showed that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have above-average financial returns. For every 10% increase in gender diversity, profit rose by 3.5%. The case is clear – businesses that have a good gender balance at all levels, perform better than those that don’t.

As a graduate herself , Jeannette spoke at the 2017 ITT conference in Sorrento about the challenges and opportunities within the travel industry to those who have studied within the tourism and hospitality sector.

During Jeannette’s time at Saga, she set some pretty ambitious goals for the team to aim for

” When Jeannette Linfoot says ‘if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well’, she’s not joking. ” – Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly