Gender equality needed

Meena Bhatia, Vice President & General Manager, Le Meridien, New Delhi, talks about the challenges she faced as woman leader during the pandemic and the hotel’s future plans to promote women.

Janice Alyosius

As the travel industry attempts to recover from the impact of COVID-19, it’s time to shift the focus on women in the industry.

Meena Bhatia, Vice President and General Manager, Le Meridien, New Delhi, speaking about the role of women, said that the hotel recruits on the merit basis and strives for gender equality at work. “We are constantly working towards creating a work culture that fosters the inclusion of women in the workplace, and in the coming years, we will enhance our entry level pipeline to increase the percentage of women from current 15 per cent to 25 per cent,” she said.

During the pandemic, most people in the hospitality and tourism businesses had trouble motivating and retaining their employees. “Agility and resilience were the keys to survival throughout the pandemic. The most difficult aspects of leadership were keeping the teams safe, ensuring their physical and mental well-being, and keeping them motivated. It did, however, strengthen teams, form stronger ties, and boost levels of commitment and pride,” Bhatia said.

Bhatia cited a few of challenges she faced in the past two years, which included gender bias at entry level, long and inflexible work hours, family pressures, and the lack of acceptance of women in certain roles. Among her achievements, she cited the emergence of women chefs in kitchens despite the fact that they are still male-dominated, noticing the emergence of women general managers, and increasing trust and acceptance of women leaders. In terms of policies and measures for women, Bhatia recommended mentoring and counselling programmes for them, pay parity, and having offers for returning mothers.