The impact of Covid-19 on women in HTL

How women in the industry have been impacted by Covid-19

Over the last few years, the HTL industry has made great strides to increase female representation, both at senior leadership level and in the general workforce. However, research from The MBS Group finds that gender diversity and inclusion has slipped down the corporate agenda since the outset of Covid-19. This chapter also goes beyond the data, and highlights stories of women in the industry who have lost their jobs or been put at risk during Covid-19. Thanks to these interviews from WiHTL, we are able to better understand how Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted women in the sector.

Key themes

SENIORITY

Existing discrepancies within both businesses and society have meant that women have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 in the HTL sector.

This is largely due to the lack of female leaders in senior positions. As one respondent put it: “More females were furloughed in our business, because they tend to be in the lower-paid, flexible roles.”

In our last report, From Intention to Action: diversity in Hospitality, Travel & Leisure, published in February 2020, we found that most businesses in the HTL sector were not on track to reach 33% female representation across all three senior leadership levels (Board, Executive Committee and Direct Reports) by the end of this year, and that there was also a significant lack of women in key strategic roles.

As such, it stands to reason that leaders reported that more women were made redundant or put on furlough because the roles they held were less senior, and therefore less central to business survival.

FUNCTION

Covid-19 is likely to have a long-term impact on gender diversity across the HTL sector, in part due to female representation across certain functions.

This plays out in a number of ways. Firstly, with a few exceptions, roles traditionally dominated by men have been less likely to be furloughed or made redundant than those dominated by women. The finance function is a prime example of this – central to business survival and traditionally held by men. By contrast, functions such as marketing and communication (often held by women) were deemed expendable during the height of the crisis, or else their duties absorbed more easily into other departments. “The people we made redundant just happened to be women,” one executive told us, “because their roles were less specifically skills-based.”

One notable exception is the HR function, which has become more visible during Covid-19 and is historically dominated by women. Looking ahead, we can expect this period to enhance the HR function’s status at the top table, and perhaps we will see more NEDs with an HR background in the years and months ahead, which will be a positive step for diversity in the sector.

Leaders indicated that the roles occupied by women are more likely to be furloughed or made redundant – but they also told us that women are more likely to take voluntary redundancy, because of the transferrable nature of their roles. Historically, the HTL sector has driven representation by hiring diverse candidates into non-sector specific roles, such as HR, finance, marketing, communications, GC, data and IT.

With the HTL sector in turmoil, many leaders have reported that female and diverse candidates in these key, but non-sector-specific roles, may choose to exit the business in favour of lower-risk industries. If this does happen, given these female appointees are often the only female voices around the table, the sector will take a significant step back in female representation across at least two of the three leadership levels (Executive Committee and Direct Reports).

FLEXIBLE WORKING

Covid-19 has fast-tracked the conversation around flexible working policies, and in many ways looks set to wave in a new era of more inclusive, flexible working practices.

The lack of meaningful opportunities for flexible working has historically been a real and, in some cases, unmoveable barrier to achieving diverse leadership. However, the last few months have shown us all that remote and flexible working is effective – possibly even more effective than we originally thought – and should no longer be a barrier to progression.

One executive explained the journey his business had been on: “Before this, we had never entertained flexible working. Now, we’re much more open to people doing roles at home, and there’s an acceptance that people can be productive over Zoom or Teams.”

Another senior leader agreed, commenting: “We’ve probably fast-forwarded five years’ worth of research on flexible working, and what that could do.”

However, there are a number of issues around flexible working that may lead to backwards steps for diversity and inclusion.

One such issue is that people on zero-hour contracts – designed specifically to support flexible working patterns and often held by women – were disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 response policies.

A number of leaders reported that every person on a zero-hour contract had been made redundant in their business in a bid to drive efficiency in their cost-cutting measures. This is problematic in a number of ways: not only because of the knock-on effect it will have on gender diversity in a business, but also because of what it implies about the value of its employees who work flexibly. Another key factor to consider around flexible working is the importance of leading from the top. In our previous reports, we found that one key factor in encouraging D&I was ensuring executives demonstrate flexible working themselves. However, with businesses rightly focused on survival and establishing new ways of trading in very short time-frames, some leaders have not been able to adopt flexible working habits themselves – rather, working around the clock, albeit from home.

Throughout our conversations we also became aware of some businesses which do not anticipate continuing flexible working policies. The focus on creativity and teamwork that exists in the HTL sector has caused some businesses already to roll back their remote and flexible working options – insisting team members return to the office. Additionally, some businesses felt it was not ‘fair’ that colleagues working on the front line were not able to work flexibly, while those in head office were.

VOLUNTARY FURLOUGH

Another area which has disproportionately impacted women is around voluntary furlough. Our respondents reported that more women than men requested to be furloughed, with many citing childcare commitments as the main reason.

The consequence of this could be significant, as taking time out of work during this period may have a long-term impact on the development and, therefore, the chances of progression of these women.

While Covid-19 has been a highly stressful time, it has also been one of immense learning and personal development for many in the industry – the sector looks different now, and different skillsets are needed. Those who have not been working during this period may find themselves at a disadvantage when returning to work for not having led through this period.

Case studies

Looking behind the data, over the course of the last few months, WiHTL interviewed five women who have lost their jobs – or been put at risk –during the Covid-19 crisis. Here, they share their stories.

Marketing Manager, Hotels

I am the Marketing Manager for a small UK hospitality business. All of my studies focused on travel and tourism and I have worked my way up from a front-line position to the role I have today.

After a successful time in the company, I returned from maternity leave and I was considering resigning from my role: I was struggling with childcare as I had no flexibility at all. The culture in the company is ‘old school’ and no-one had been offered flexible working, so it was to my boss’s credit that when I did resign, he championed my cause with the senior leadership team and agreed to me working part-time and from home on a trial basis.

Before Covid hit, the trial was working very well and I was more productive working part-time and from home than if I’d been full-time in the office. Once the impact of the pandemic began, nearly all employees were furloughed and 90% of the teams have subsequently been made redundant. I am one of the lucky ones as I am still on furlough. I am very worried about the uncertainty that now lies ahead from a company perspective. As my boss has now been made redundant, I am even more worried the culture will revert and all the progression made in allowing me to work flexibly will disappear, forcing me to resign and leave the company regardless of what the future holds.

If I do need to move companies, I cannot see myself working outside of the industry. My heart is in hospitality and I just couldn’t get excited about another industry.

Head of Marketing, Travel

I have worked in the HTL industry my entire career, for global and international companies. My most recent role was Head of Marketing for most of my company’s brand portfolio.

My Covid story is perhaps slightly different to others, but I think it highlights the factors that impact women in their careers in ‘normal’ times that have now been exacerbated by the situation. When the pandemic struck, our CEO was very proactive and brought the leadership teams together to forge a survival strategy. Although I was never furloughed, the implementation of the scheme came as a great relief as it allowed the company some breathing space to make critical decisions. Unfortunately, even with the furlough scheme, the company needed to restructure and make redundancies.

During this time, I was quite taken aback by the ‘old school’ mentality shown by the business. This included assumptions that women who had recently returned from maternity leave would prefer to remain on furlough rather than return with no validation. It felt as if the selection criteria for redundancies was based on willingness and opportunity to work every given hour rather than performance or quality of contribution. This impacted both men and women who had commitments that meant they could not do this. In my view this was a reactive and short-term approach that will impact the company’s ability to recover. At one point, the suggestion was made to merge certain functions, including the marketing teams, which resulted in my role being put at risk as only one Head of Marketing would now be needed in the new structure.

As part of this process, I found out that my male counterpart who had similar experience, responsibility and company tenure was being paid £20K a year more than me.

I was offered the role but to be honest, I felt so undervalued as a result of this revelation I decided to take voluntary redundancy instead.

I love this industry and it has been hard to see how badly it has been impacted. It has also been frustrating to see companies adopt shortterm tactical approaches that create ‘chaos’ and a lack of direction. I believe this will mean recovery for the sector as a whole will be slower.

Covid is a long-term challenge and we need to take a long-term view. The pandemic has given companies the opportunity to think differently and be more progressive and creative, but to harness this opportunity leaders need to take a breath and ‘step back’. It is also critical that companies move away from a purely internal focus and move to collaborate, come together, and help the whole industry recover more quickly.

L&D Manager, Restaurants

I have worked in HTL for over 10 years in a range of HR roles. I had worked for a previous business for nearly six years and was headhunted for a role in another organisation in 2019.

The business I joined was an exciting organisation that had ambitious growth plans for 2020 and beyond. Of course, this was all stopped with the onset of Covid-19.

When I was put on furlough, the first feeling I had was relief. I had a central role that required us to visit sites on a daily basis and the prospect of travelling on public transport in highly populated areas was causing my family and me immense worry and anxiety. To be honest, this is why I initially felt relieved at being on furlough.

The communication I received from my company during my time on furlough was mixed, we had an online platform where peers and friends still in the business shared experiences and news, but we had no official updates to us directly from our MD on a regular basis.

Being on furlough meant you could feel isolated. I have a great support network but not everyone has this. Communication is key and it’s so important for leaders in such an unprecedented time to still be ‘visible’ and check in with all their teams, whatever their personal situation - even when there is nothing to say, tell people that.

When the company came to think about redundancies, I was one of the people to be let go, regardless of my potential value add to the business. I felt frustrated and upset – not because of the why but the how. I was dealt with very professionally and in an appropriate way but not really with much emotional care. I have questioned how I feel about the HTL industry and how ‘vulnerable’ it is, I had never viewed it in this way. After having always worked in the sector, I started to apply for jobs outside the industry to see where else I could take my experience. However, after having been offered a role in a manufacturing company, I realised that although the industry is vulnerable and will take a while to recover, I am still hugely passionate about it and no other sector has come close to igniting that feeling.

However, I worry about a talent drain from the industry, especially for young people and women who have not had time to ‘build up’ this passion. I know of young people who have been made redundant from front-line roles who feel ‘stung’ by the industry and will not come back easily.

My advice to organisations in the sector would be to emphasise the need to support and view people as individuals as we start to rebuild the industry. One thing the pandemic has shown us is the importance of family and work-life integration. People are workers, parents and carers amongst many other roles – celebrate this and be flexible and adapt to help people return and thrive in the best possible way.

Sales Manager, Hotels

I have always worked in the industry in a variety of roles across hotels, travel and entertainments.

In my last role in my company, 2019 was such a fantastic year and we were very much looking forward to 2020 and the opportunities ahead. We started to see cancellations early in the year but by March we saw an absolute collapse of demand.

The decision on who was furloughed was based on the level of government financial support across the various geographic regions. Also, my team was international, so the local furlough and lockdown rules meant we had people from the same team having very different experiences. For example, I had a member of the team who lived in a country where the schools were closed down earlier than the UK and she was struggling to make it work. Therefore, she asked for some greater flexibility in her working day and to take some holiday time. When the government in that country brought in their furlough scheme she was placed on furlough as it was assumed that this would suit her because of her earlier request. This was probably done with the best intentions in mind, but it wasn’t what she wanted.

For those who weren’t furloughed, I think everyone felt a huge pressure to make themselves ‘essential’ and ‘worth keeping’. This perceived pressure combined with the short-term nature of decisions put my team under considerable strain, in particular the mothers in my team as they tried to balance childcare responsibilities with this need to be ‘always on’. On top of this, many of the women in my team had become the sole breadwinner in their household due to their partners being made redundant in the wake of Covid. In many of the 1:1s I held with my team, they said they struggled with the relentless intensity of Zoom and virtual calls.

For those who were furloughed from my team, I knew they felt ‘left out’’. I created a call every two weeks with the whole team that only had a social aspect so that the team could remain connected.

In hindsight it would have been helpful if the company had provided guidance on helping leaders manage the mental health of their teams over the last few months, however I completely understand that each team was stretched and there wasn’t the capacity to do this.

I think the HTL industry will have a talent drain of people from many of the corporate functions as the skills are so transferrable to other industries. I understand the commercial need to reduce cost, but I think perhaps the industry has cut too deep and it will make recovery harder when it does come.

Digital Manager, Hospitality

I have worked in many different sectors, both client and agency side, before taking my first role in the HTL industry looking after the digital strategy for a UK based hospitality operation.

When everything closed down due to lockdown, one third of our operations closed and the vast majority of employees were furloughed, including myself. The communication during this time was not great and I felt totally abandoned and of no value to the organisation. There was lack of leadership and it felt as if there was no real effort from the company to keep its people engaged. In fact, the company’s values very quickly went out of the window when the crisis hit.

During this time, I also saw my peers and colleagues who were still working really struggling to keep up with home commitments and working at the same time. I think there needed to be much more of a focus on supporting and guiding managers on engaging and caring for their teams in such difficult circumstances.

It has now transpired that most people who were furloughed have been made redundant. I really worry about the people who are remaining and their wellbeing. I think they will be overstretched and will suffer burn out as workload grows and the loss of knowledge and experience becomes more evident. Many people who work in my area are not from the industry originally and this experience will mean most of them will look to other roles and sectors even if they have not been made redundant. It has also struck me that many of the functions that have been cut or reduced, like marketing and HR, are predominantly female, meaning a further drain on female talent across the sector. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the future pipeline for female leaders but also the loss of role models across the industry, at least for a period of time.

Now we are in the wake of the pandemic, I understand survival needs to be the key focus but I feel the leaders in this industry have taken their eyes off the future and the many opportunities to work in a more effective way. The world has changed with customers and employees now having different expectations; however, it feels like many industry leaders have reverted to their comfort zones and operational ‘basics’ to forge a way forward. This will not future proof the industry and I believe recovery will be slower as a result.