Women 1st has announced that it will be inducting 23 new women into its prestigious Top 100 Club of the most influential women in hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. Current members include Delia Smith CBE, Amanda Wills, managing director of Virgin Holidays and Clare Kavanagh, director of performance for buses, Transport for London. The Top 100 Club is designed to celebrate the very best in female achievement and to highlight the role models and leaders who have achieved success at the highest levels.

Last year’s inductees included Carolyn McCall OBE, chief executive, easyJet; Debbie White, chief executive UK and Ireland, Sodexo Ltd. and Clare Walker, chairman, women in aviation and aerospace committee, Royal Aeronautical Society.
 
Sharon Glancy, founder of Women 1st says: “Despite our industry being one of the most vibrant and dynamic, women continue to struggle to climb up the career ladder.  The Top 100 Club gives us the opportunity to showcase the visible impact and inspiration women in our industries provide and in turn, encourage others to follow such success and become the role models of tomorrow.  Women continue to make an outstanding contribution to our industry and their efforts should be recognised and celebrated.”

Women 1st is the brainchild of sector skills council People 1st, which set up the initiative in 2009 after it found that whilst almost 60 percent of the hospitality workforce is female, only six percent of board director positions are held by women. To date it has supported over 1,000 women through its training and mentoring programmes.