Women have accomplished incredible benchmarks for decades, not just in the domain of travel and tourism, but in the verticals of economic, political and social contributions at the same time. The travel and tourism sector in particular is bestowed with 54% women representation across the globe, although there remain some aspects where the women-kind is still on the lookout to set a footprint with excellence.
On International Women’s Day, T3 takes the opportunity to draw a spotlight on our women readers from cross-section of the industry. Priyanka Nijhawan, Director of Nijhawan Group, shares her views with T3.
What is your opinion regarding the presence of an effective mechanism for monitoring and assessment of the progress made by women in the tourism domain?
Women are born leaders be it at home or in a workspace and have the natural ability to waltz into any role. More and more women are taking up leadership roles in the tourism industry, especially after the pandemic, women are more upfront to accepting the work-life balance. If you look at our industry today, women undertake some of the highest-regarded leadership roles, be it leading their entrepreneurial venture or spearheading a corporate. Quantifying the effectiveness of progress women in this industry may be difficult, however the growing trend with women in lead is a definite assessment. In fact, I am proud to share that my team consists of over 60% of women who are working under various departments and are leading the way!
India’s G20 Presidency also aims to serve as an opportunity to showcase women-led development, with our Hon’ble PM Modi noting: “We have to maintain priority on women-led development even in our G-20 agenda”. What is your opinion?
Prime Minister’s vision to showcase women-led initiatives will truly transform challenges into opportunities accelerating the shift towards women-led entrepreneurship and ultimately have a greater inclusion of women in the workforce.
Where are we lacking in terms of initiatives, skill development and training, and implementation of women empowerment activities by industry?
I don’t think women are lacking in any industry now, let alone tourism. In today’s time, everyone is given an equal opportunity to pursue the career of his or her choice. With abundance of programmes launched to empower, in the near future we are definitely going to see some revolutionary changes by women, for women.
What are the factors that create hindrances to a healthy ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in tourism?
If you talk about 10 years back from now, the travel and tourism industry was male-dominated mainly because the larger pool of businesses were family run from generations. But this is not the case anymore. As I said before, women are taking up the challenge and working hard to build their network as they gear up to be leaders.
What is your message for budding women entrepreneurs in the travel & tourism domain?
Being an entrepreneur provides a sense of empowerment, especially in today’s world where women have a long history of fighting their way through gender biased positions that have been created. As a woman, there are times when your emphasis changes to your family, and your attention is divided, but after this pandemic, I believe we have all overcome all obstacles and managed to operate profitable enterprises while caring for our loved ones. Do not be scared to chase your dreams; if you believe in your idea, you will be successful.
