INTERNATIONAL. Women in Travel Retail (WiTR) has kicked off its 2023 webinar programme, with Essence Corp Co-founder and Co-owner, Patricia Bona, speaking on the theme ‘We are female leaders: Diversity, Inclusion & Equal Opportunities in the Work Place’.
The webinar, on 20 January, was led by WiTR Vice Chair Gerry Munday*, with Chair Sarah Branquinho, and co-host TFWA Exhibition Sales Manager Mona Lebrasseur.
As reported, Bona is one of the group’s earliest members and an active supporter. She highlighted her own career in travel retail, introducing a new Essence Corp logo and noting that the distribution company celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.
She considered the diversity of the travel retail industry, women’s representation and the support offered by WiTR.
She looked closely at definitions of diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities and used a simple example of people wearing different shoes as a guideline for employers to ensure prospective employees are not alienated.
Bona touched on examples of leadership in politics and the business world, underlining the importance of women promoting female leadership and supporting each other while putting an end to the perception of male-dominated careers.
Bona highlighted changes in the workforce from the 1950s, when only 1.5% of women attended universities, through to the emergence of the feminist movement and beyond in a fascinating overview which combined statistics with her own career path.
Bona noted that diversity, inclusion and equity had found their place in corporate conversations by 2010.
She also touched on the emergence of new careers, such as chief diversity officers, noting that 57% are female, with 43% hired during the past two years.
Bona said she was optimistic of the future and the roles diversity and inclusion will continue to play in travel retail.
“We can see that we have made progress but we as women need to lift ourselves up and get ready to embrace equity,” she added, noting the #embracequaity tagline for this year’s International Women’s Day in March.
*WiTR Vice-chair Gerry Munday reminded WiTR members that the group is seeking nominations for its 2023 charity which should centre on an end-to-end project with a maximum of €15,000 funding.
