Sarah Donohoe, national sales manager conference and events, North West, Jockey Club Venues

I believe the business events and hospitality industry has made significant strides in increasing female representation in leadership roles. There is a strong presence of women in event planning, coordination, and management, and I am proud to be part of an all-female management team, with an all-female senior leadership team above me.

There is also growing support for women within the sector, such as female-only business networking groups, which provide valuable opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and career progression. Additionally, there has been a noticeable increase in diversity among event speakers and panellists, reflecting a more inclusive approach. However, challenges remain, as they do in any industry. Systemic issues, such as work-life balance expectations, can make it more difficult for women to reach and sustain top leadership positions.

These barriers are not unique to hospitality but are certainly factors that influence gender parity at the highest levels. While it is difficult to predict an exact timeline, I do believe that the business events and hospitality industry is progressing at a faster rate than the general workforce. If the momentum of advocating for women in leadership continues—through mentorship, flexible working policies, and visible role models—the sector has the potential to reach gender parity much sooner than 2158.

Stephanie Maurel, CEO at Church House Westminster, The Corporation of the Church House

 I have hope that we will achieve full gender parity, but there remains much that we, as a sector, need to do to accelerate this change. This is a difficult journey, and one which we have been travelling on for a while now. And while there are a lot of women working in the events sector, few are in high-paid positions. By its nature, the sector demands long, unsociable hours, which can pose difficult barriers to overcome for many women.

Here are some of the actions I believe we need to implement to speed up our journey in reaching full gender parity within the events sector:

· Implement transparent pay equity policies to make sure that there is fairness across all roles. At Church House we review and benchmark all salaries externally every three years and also when there is a market change linked to certain roles. We have an annual pay review and bonus, which has trustee input and money is set aside should there be a need for a mid-year salary increase based on market need or change.

· Increase female representation in leadership roles - if you can't see it, it is hard to be it. We have a female CEO (me!), and we have two leading women, Marina, head of marketing and business development, and vedrana, head of operations, who have both been internally promoted. Vedrana is shortlisted in the UK Excellence Awards for Emerging Leader.

· Provide mentorship and sponsorship programmes— At Church House, all staff are offered access to coaching schemes – that includes me too! This focuses employees on development, and as a result,t we have just promoted two women within the events team.

· Address workplace culture and combat biases – creating a safe workplace where employees are both supported and valued is paramount. We ensure every employee has numerous check-ins, be it staff clinics, monthly 1-2-1s which ALWAYS start with a conversation on how the individual is, as well as our Wellbeing Days which are designed to break down barriers to create an open culture.

· Offer flexible working arrangements – It is hard to juggle a family and private life with events work. We plan as far in advance as we can to allow our staff to organise themselves, and we pay for taxis home when staff work late so that they always feel safe (we do the same for early starts). Unusually for the sector we offer a three-day in the office policy so staff can work from home when they are not running their own events, as well as supporting compressed hours.

Rachel Phillips, regional sales director, The Celtic Collection

The hospitality industry has long been a place of opportunity, and I believe it has been more progressive than many other sectors when it comes to gender equality. At The Celtic Collection, we are proud to have a leadership team where women hold key positions, setting an important precedent for the industry.

However, progress cannot be taken for granted. We must remain proactive in championing women at all levels, ensuring that career development is accessible to everyone, and our team is a great example of providing opportunities for women across the age range. One of the key ways in which we can accelerate action is by amplifying the voices of women in our industry and by providing strong role models. By fostering a culture of inclusivity and encouragement, we can create an environment where women not only succeed but thrive in leadership roles.

Jodie Roberts-Ozturk - government functional standards executive, The QEII Centre

With full gender parity still estimated to be five generations away, my heart aches for my daughter and young girls everywhere who will continue to face challenges simply because they are female.

Soon, I won’t be able to shield my daughter from the harsh reality that gender can put her at a disadvantage. As a collective we must ask: Why does this persist? Unconscious bias remains deeply ingrained, and we must make a conscious effort to confront it. Challenging long-held narratives about gender roles is essential, and we must be unwavering in our pursuit of true equality.

The ‘Accelerate Action’ campaign is a powerful opportunity to drive progress at a faster pace for the next generation. It encourages organisations to reflect on how they can do better - both structurally and culturally - to advance gender parity. The QEII Centre and the wider events industry are leveraging cutting-edge technology to create bigger and better experiences. With this evolution comes an opportunity for women to thrive in STEM-related roles within the industry. However, without quality education and training, these technical positions will continue to lack female representation.

To break this cycle, we must actively support and encourage women and girls in traditionally male-dominated fields, starting with inclusive classrooms. Women and girls are just as capable as their male counterparts and must be equally represented. At the QEII Centre, I’m proud to be part of an organisation where three out of four directors are female, fostering a culture of equality, inclusion, and collaboration. But until this becomes the norm across all industries - enforced by businesses and supported by all genders - we must continue to accelerate our actions.

Lauren Faraday, director of sales at 60 Great Queen Street

Gender parity remains a huge issue in the UK and the latest data from the World Economic Forum shows that we’ve still got a long way to go to ensure women are equally recognised in terms of opportunities and pay.

That said, it’s been promising to see growing female representation in the business events industry through senior appointments and more diverse event line-ups. I feel privileged to have had some fantastic opportunities in my career and I’m proud to work alongside a team full of talented women at 60 Great Queen Street.

There’s still important conversations to be had industry-wide, especially around inclusive workplace policies and addressing unconscious bias, as well as establishing more female-led mentoring programmes.

As the mother of two young daughters, I want to see gender parity a lot sooner than the predicted date of 2158 to eliminate barriers to them embarking on their future chosen careers. I think as an industry we’ve got to advocate for women and lead by example to ensure the necessary progress is made.