The hospitality industry—generally regarded as a warm and humane sector—is undergoing a seismic shift today. As we step into 2025, the world is realising how women contribute to the industry, from corporate suites to kitchen leadership, in a way that is not just moral, but an unstoppable competitive force.

Worldwide Momentum: Women Leaders in Travel and Hospitality 2025

Women represent 52% of the hospitality workforce worldwide, yet they hold only 30% of leadership positions, demonstrating that the industry has made progress while still restricting women's ability to advance into leadership roles. Since 2019, women have represented 1 in 10 men and now, with leadership, represent 1 in 7 in hospitality. Additionally, women's visibility as delegates has improved in high-profile hotel industry conferences, where podium representation improved from 16% to 24%.

Women's participation continues to improve in the boardroom. Women hold approximately 33% of boards in tourism and hospitality, representing a 100% improvement since 2013, when women represented approximately 16% of these positions. There is something beyond optics. When companies have more than 30% women in leadership, they are 25% more likely to generate above-average profitability, and they make better decisions 87% of the time when using diverse teams.

Large organisations like Marriott, Hilton, and Accor are also starting initiatives for women in leadership, including mentorship, leadership and development, and more inclusive hiring practices.

India Context: Women Executive Chefs India & Hospitality Gender Diversity India

In India, women leaders in hospitality in 2025 are gaining momentum despite continued structural and cultural barriers. Even the World Travel & Tourism Council indicates that India has the lowest participation of women in tourism employment among G20 nations. Nevertheless, companies that are looking to the future are paving the way: 

ITC's IHCL aims for 25% women participation by 2025 and has launched South Asia's first luxury property managed entirely by women - Taj Wellington Mews in Chennai.

The Westin Hyderabad Hitech City, managed entirely by a team of women, and it represents a deeper inclusion of women at the leadership level of the company.    

In Kerala, the state government initiated gender audits at tourist destinations, while also backing women entrepreneurs. 17,600 + women across South India are registered under the state government's Responsible Tourism initiative. All this work is to create a safer, accessible place and expand women's hospitality labour opportunities in India. 

Spotlight: Women Executive Chefs India

India’s kitchens have witnessed an explosion of powerful female culinary perspectives – chef entrepreneurs, authors, and operational leaders - reshaping hospitality through authenticity and creativity.

Performing the Leading Women in Food & Hospitality 2025 - India profiles, the most spectacular chefs included:

• Pooja Dhingra (Le15 Patisserie), who has been credited for the macaron revolution in India, is mentoring a generation of leaders in the pastry discipline.
• Kainaz Messman (Theobroma), who grew a single café and Monster into a national chain based on honest ingredients and storytelling with heart.
• Aanal Kotak (The Secret Kitchen), elevating and modernising Gujarati cuisine while extending the reach of her brand.
• Garima Arora, the first woman of Indian descent to receive a Michelin star and continues to inspire the world through her global travels.
• Anahita Dhondy Bhandari is championing sustainable food heritage and Parsi cuisine as a professional chef and author.
• Natasha Gandhi (House of Millets) creates menus that blend wellness and flavour for today’s conscious diners.

Barriers and Strategies: What Lies Ahead in 2025 — and What’s Working

Existing Barriers:

• The gender pay gap remains: women in tourism still earn 14.7% less than men.
• Senior leadership remains constrained: women in global travel & hospitality occupy 42% of mid-management and 33% of senior-level positions, but just 28% of board seats and a mere 7% CEO or Chair positions. 
• In the broader industry, women occupy only 6% of hospitality sector CEO positions as of 2023. 
• Traditional networking events continue to be male-dominated, making it more difficult for women to have access to top-tier opportunities. 
• The culture of the industry—from investor bias to the treatment of women in workplace settings—continues to impede progress. Women chefs report being undervalued, facing violence, or being asked only questions related to their status as women.

The Factors Driving Change:

• Mentorship and sponsorship: Mentorship can help women better navigate their career advancement; however, sponsorship, where someone acts as your advocate to secure promotions and opportunities, is changing the access to leadership.
• Corporate Gender Programs: Leading hotel companies such as Accor, Marriott, and IHCL are applying specific policies to increase the number of women in leadership roles with strategies that include training, flexible policies, and inclusive recruitment policies.
• Diverse Leadership pays: Research is showing that companies with gender diverse leadership outperform the competition in profits and decision-making.
• Institutional programs: Industry-wide support through networks like WITHorg, Indian Women in Hospitality learning networks, provides access to mentoring, tools, and community.
• Policy-level action: In Kerala, a state-sponsored audit of women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector and Government subsidies are creating scalable pathways for women in tourism.

A Vision for 2025 and Beyond 

The year 2025 isn't going to be the year of gender parity in hospitality, but it's clear that change is happening faster than anyone imagined.

Women in hospitality leadership—culinary, general managers, board members—are creating new stories in their industries. They not only create remarkable guest experiences but they shape inclusive environments where inclusion, sustainable development, and cultural equity thrive.

There are many actions that stakeholders can take to strengthen the momentum:

• Increase sponsorship and move beyond mentorship.
• Be transparent about pay and conduct all gender audits.
• Engage in building inclusive cultures from anti-harassment to flexible working.
• Invest in women-led projects and work with underserved markets and regions;
• Catalyse policy interventions that have the potential to normalise women's leadership in hospitality

In sum, 2025 is more than a waypoint; it is a turning point. Women in hospitality leadership are not walking into rooms anymore, but instead are changing rooms.

The increase of women leaders in hospitality 2025 demonstrates the progress we have made and the promise of deeper change. Outside of India, women executive chefs are creating culinary legacies. Along with systematic efforts from industry, governments, and changemakers to advance hospitality, gender diversity is ushering many into the next chapter of the hospitality evolution.

This is the very moment where potential becomes power—where balance turns into brilliance. The kitchens, board rooms, and doorways of hospitality are now unlocking wider than ever—created by women who are defining the next evolution of warm welcome.

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