Women in Tourism Chair to step down after nearly a decade in the role
Tuesday 22 October: This morning it was announced that after nearly a decade in the role, Susan Russell is to step down as Chair of Women In Tourism. In 2015 Susan informally gathered a small group of industry leaders together to discuss the opportunities and challenges of women working within Scottish tourism, and pitched the idea of a new membership organisation that could inspire, motivate and encourage women into leadership roles.
At that time, it was recognised that there were a lack of female role models speaking at industry conferences or in panel discussions, and Susan was keen to shift the dial, encourage greater diversity in senior teams and at Board-level, and provide a platform for women to gather, network and discuss. As one of the first ‘Women In’ organisations to be created in the UK, Women In Tourism has been a driving force in opening discussion about greater gender parity in organisations across the country.
Women In Tourism was formally launched in 2017 following an in-house survey, which might still be the largest piece of equality research in the industry. It highlighted that 57% of women worked within Scottish tourism as they were passionate about the sector, and 68% felt they could ‘imagine reaching a senior level within their organisation’. A data-driven approach was taken in the creation of the membership organisation, with events, networking opportunities and mentoring at its core.
Since then, Women in Tourism has delivered 30 in-person and digital events, listening and responding to the hot topics that members and the industry highlighted as important to explore. These were often in partnership with other groups and organisations, such as Edinburgh Napier University on focus groups for equality in the marketplace; and HIT Scotland who kindly offered four scholarships to Women in Tourism members. The organisation also worked with Business Women Scotland on the inaugural BWS Tourism & Hospitality Awards, with awards given at two Gala Dinners.
In celebration of the Year of Young People in 2018, a young Director was appointed to join the board, with Julia MacGregor leading on the creation and delivery of the first conference for the organisation, welcoming over 130 delegates. As a legacy project, the following year the Young Women in Tourism awards recognised four trailblazers who were nominated by their peers, and individually awarded work experience within VisitScotland and Expedia, a HIT Scotland scholarship and a year’s membership of Entrepreneurial Scotland.
In 2018 the organisation launched the Top 100 Women in Tourism, a first of its kind for the sector, with peer-nominations creating a biannual celebration of those working across tourism, at any stage of their career. In 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, the announcement of the Top 100 brought welcome celebration at a time when businesses were closing, and redundancies were widespread.
During the pandemic, the organisation moved quickly to support the industry with a range of digital support, which included signposting updates and resources in addition to a series of ten online panel discussions with leaders from across the industry. In recognition of Women in Tourism’s role within the sector, in 2021 Susan was invited by then Tourism Minister, Fergus Ewing, to join the Scottish Government’s Tourism Recovery Taskforce on behalf of the organisation and its members.
In announcing her departure, Susan Russell, Chair of Women In Tourism said:
‘When I came up with the idea of creating Women in Tourism, it was met with an outpouring of support and excitement for this new organisation. The founding principles to support, motivate and encourage women into positions of leadership still continue to this day and the success of Women In Tourism has been down to the passion behind those working across Scottish Tourism.
I never intended to remain as Chair for this long, and the time has come for a new leader to drive the future of this amazing organisation. I’d like to take this moment to thank the entire Women In Tourism board, both current and past; who joined me on this truly rewarding and life changing journey. It has taken us to places I could have never imagined.’
A recruitment process for a new Chair will take place in the coming weeks.
