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13 November, 2023

Fostering female flighties: FCTG on sponsoring the Women In Travel Awards

Flight Centre does more than just ensure its customers are flying high (or cruising, or touring, or just generally travelling well, really).

It’s fostering the constant development of women in the travel industry and ensuring that egalitarianism is a given in the workplace. In a sense, it guarantees women in the workplace are flying high too.

This is something that has influenced its decision to sponsor our night of nights: the Women In Travel Awards! These awards look to highlight the many incredible achievements of the women in our industry and give them the recognition they more than deserve, something commended by Flight Centre Travel Group’s global head of operations Marieke Tucker.

“I believe it’s really important to continue to empower and recognise women and what role they play in the travel industry in general,” Tucker told Travel Weekly.

So do Tucker and FCTG put their money where their mouth is? Well obviously, Flight Centre is sponsoring these awards, but it also has an array of initiatives and internal programs to foster the advancement of women in the workplace.

Among these is WomenWise, an internal organisation at FCTG that connects female employees and represents them. It provides an excellent opportunity for women across all departments and levels within the business to make connections and learn from others.

FCTG also runs a mentor program to fast-track and support female leadership so that individual progression can flourish and turn into achievements, such as in our Women In Travel Awards.

“I think it’s a great mental and confidence booster to recognise achievements,” Tucker said of the awards.

“As a woman, you often think you need to be 100 per cent perfect before you recognise or validate your success or skills. Yet, we achieve so much but hardly take the time to reflect and celebrate.

“The industry is filled with incredibly smart and ambitious women and the network of skill sharing and collaboration is really small. Events like these create that platform and allow opportunities for women to aspire and collaborate more.”

And women in FCTG find themself aspiring for high roles where they often see their fellow female staff members. Over 50 per cent of leadership roles at FCTG are filled by women and two of the five board members are female.

“Many women hold leadership roles, from regional general managers and state leaders to global head of finance. I am fortunate to work in an environment surrounded by smart, intelligent women who are encouraged to excel within our business,” she said.

While executive representation at FCTG is good, Tucker acknowledges that there is room across the broader travel industry for advancements of women in higher-up positions.

Tucker said she’d like to see more women “representing on board levels and senior executive spaces, where we still see a high volume of male-dominated positions being held.

“While it’s encouraging to see so many women in leadership positions, I do feel that there is an opportunity to increase their presence at a higher level.”

Something that our Women In Travel Awards strives to achieve!

A massive thanks to Flight Centre for sponsoring these awards and the other sponsors below. We’ll catch you there on the night of nights!

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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