Women at AccorHotels plant seeds of success

Being successful is not enough for the women at AccorHotels. Being able to help other women is what matters. Women at AccorHotels Generation (WAAG), AccorHotels’ international gender diversity network with over3,500 membersglobally aims to support the women of AccorHotels in their personal and professional development and encourage more diversity across the company.

International media personality Anita Kapoor; and PrimeTime President Lavinia Thanapathy shared their inspiring stories at WAAG’s third birthday celebrations at ibis Singapore on Bencoolen.

AccorHotels Asia Pacific Vice President Learning and Talent Development Christine Rumble shares, “AccorHotels firmly believes in nurturing a culture of equality in our company, and as we make progressive strides towards this goal, AccorHotels plan to reach 35% of women GMs by 2017 and 50% in the long-term.”

“AccorHotels is a leading global hotel operator with a network of more than 3,800 hotels in 92 countries, including over 650 hotels across Asia Pacific,” she continued. “The group has a strong focus on staff learning and development and with a talent shortage in the industry, equal opportunities in the work place is vital to us.”

We believe that diversity of the teams, right up to management level, is a key driver of the company's performance. The Group provides opportunities for female members, to receive support by a mentor. Mentors contribute towards planting seeds of success among our younger talents.

AccorHotels Asia Pacific Human Resources Marketing Manager Veronique Augier Nel said, “The mentorship program has given me more insight on how to roll out my personal career plan within the company in the medium and long term. It helps to have a mentor to objectively guide you along the way and share advice based on their personal experiences.”

Currently AccorHotels in South, North and Central America lead the way in terms of gender equity with 42% of hotels being run by women General Managers. Across Asia Pacific, there are currently around 1 in 5 women in Hotel Manager or General Manager positions compared to men, but the group has introduced a range of policies to make it easier to identify high-potential women and ensure they enjoy equal access to the company’s senior positions. A large part of this goal is the creation of the Women at Accor Generation (WAAG) network, which is designed to inspire and support women to evolve within the group.

Asia Pacific has the strongest WAAG network, with over 1,200 members (or over 34% of global membership), showing there is a real push for change in the region, with both men and women represented in the network.