Dear Round-Up Readers,

Loving the female-focused meet ups I’ve been attending recently, with topics that ranged from challenging unconscious bias and building confidence to coping with relocation (with family in tow) and menopause–raw, honest conversations that enlightened me on what topics are most important to women right now.

Was grateful to experience an inspiring female-led discussion at IHG headquarters this week, with a panel including Eunice Clements-Tweedle, VP of Global Talent Acquisition, Karin Sheppard, SVP and Managing Director, Europe, Joanna Kurowska, VP, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, and Rebecca (Becky) Bryson, VP of Hotel and Lifestyle Growth, Europe. Read the highlights here!

Last week's group discussion with a dozen female leaders from UK hotel operators organized by Thomas Finn, managing director of hospitality recruitment agency Edwards & Finn, and hosted by Catt McLeod, Vice President of Brand Development at of Elegant Hotels. Read the highlights here!

Speaking of events, we would love to partner with you on ours!  Encouraged by the incredibly positive feedback from our London and NYC, events, we are planning to do more in 2024, and are looking for venues in London, Las Vegas, Miami, Palm Beach and New York! Just reply to this email and I can share more details.

Looking forward to seeing so many of you at ILTM this week! So glad you emailed me about wanting to meet up!

Now, on to the rest of the news....

Business, Women, and Random Trends:
 

• Will Gains From the Spectacular ‘She-covery’ Last? Women in the workforce are doing better than ever, with a record share of those considered prime working age (25 to 54 years old) holding a job. Their employment gains have benefited more than just those women and their families. They have also helped power our post-covid economic miracle and, so far at least, steer the country away from recession. Read more in the Washington Post.
  
  Wharton Business School notes the resilience of women’s employment is driven by two long-term trends that predate the pandemic and continued through it:

  1. the growing share of women who are college graduates.

  2. the rising labor force participation of college-educated mothers with young children.
      

• Amazon Gender Pay Gap Lawsuit Something to keep an eye on...three Amazon staffers filed suit against the company on Monday claiming, "they assign female staffers lower job titles for the same roles that are held by men with higher titles and larger salaries. The company then “regularly fails” to promote women, “resulting in the performance of similar work as men in higher job codes for less compensation.”
   

• Now, What Was I Looking For? The New York Times explains why your short-term memory falters, and how to make it better. Don't forget to read this 😂
   

• How to Self-Promote — Without Sounding Self-Centered Regular readers will note we recently shared a similar article on this topic from Fast Company, but worth repeating! So important to promote yourself!! Read more in Harvard Business Review.
   

• Use This Leadership Skill to Increase Your Social Awareness at Work Interesting take on how to sharpen your Emotional Intelligence in Entrepreneur.
   

•  Holiday Read: an Etiquette Guide to Regifting To regift or not to regift? It can be a polarising topic! The Washington Post offers seven tips for the do’s and don’ts of regifting.

Travel & Hospitality:

• The Iconic Ritz Paris Has Their First-Ever Female Executive Chef! Vogue magazine profiles chef Eugénie Béziat and reveals places she likes to eat in Paris (when she's not working). Love this!!!
   

• Pack Your Jerseys. The Era of 'Sports Tourism' is Here According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, sports tourism is the fastest growing segment of travel. GetYourGuide said sports-themed bookings have increased 130% since 2019, with most booking coming from travelers in the U.K. (37%), the U.S. (20%), Germany (17%) and France (15%). Read more on CNBC.
   

• Tech Conference Accused of Creating Fake Female Speakers Here's a new one! In an effort to appear more gender-diverse, female speakers were featured in the DevTernity conference lineup. One catch: they weren't real. Great reporting by Skift's Andrea Doyle.
   

• How Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ is Changing Travel Around the World We've been following the Swift boom from the US tour, now CNN looks at her impact globally.
   

• War-Inflicted Slowdown Ends Robust Year for Tourism in Middle East Amid security concerns brought on by the Israel-Hamas conflict, international travel has shuddered to a halt in Israel and is falling in neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. Read more in the New York Times.

On hertelier this week:

Big Welcome to Our New Subscribers! The story in Forbes, How Women Are Changing The Hotel Industry, keeps bringing new readers! Super excited to have you here. 

• Empowering Women in Hospitality: Insights from Female Leaders in London

  Female leaders from the hotel sector gathered at The Landmark Hotel in London to discuss moving toward gender equality in hospitality.
   

• IHG's Female Leaders on Authenticity, Vulnerability and Flexibility in Hospitality IHG female leaders speak about their careers and personal experiences in--from menopause to moving around--lots of honest intel!
   

• Influencer or Influential: Which Would You Rather Be? What is the difference between being an "influencer" and being "influential"? Columnist Nancy Mendelson unpacks...
   

• "Generation T" Leading the Charge for Travel in 2024 + 3 Other Top Trends from ABTA Almost three-quarters of UK 18-24-year-olds plan to travel overseas in next 12 months – more than any other age group – according to ABTA
   

• Ally of the Month: Bill Reynolds, Senior Managing Director, MCS Capital Bill Reynolds has been an ally for women throughout his accomplished career in hotels, contributor Andrea Foster finds out why.

Hey, don't forget: if you love reading the Round-Up, please forward this email to a friend or colleague! They can see past issues and sign up by clicking here.

PODCASTS to download!

Ginni Rometty on Kelly Corrigan Wonders. Ginni rose up the ranks at IMB to become CEO. Her story of perseverance is fascinating, she grew up with a single mom on food stamps. She is now a champion for access to jobs. LOVED THIS. Also Kelly Corrigan's interview with Arianna Huffington is great.
 

The “Let Them Theory”: A Life-Changing Mindset Hack That 15 Million People Can’t Stop Talking About I'm having a bit of a Mel Robbins binge at the moment. Not sure how I missed this viral one back in May, but in case you did too 🤯 Her simple advice makes sense!

Dorothy Dowling on Hospitality Daily..."Challenges and Opportunities with Hotel Brands Today: What I Saw As CMO of Best Western With 18 Brands," big fan of Dorothy and Josiah pulls very interesting points in the conversation.

It's been a year of highs and lows, a visual representation of 2023 from Reuters photographers is really moving.

Thank you for reading! Have a great week!

Em