Janet Tidmarsh
Head of Diversity & Inclusion for Whitbread
Janet is an experienced talent, learning & inclusion professional, having worked for some of the countries best known B2C brands including Virgin, Sainsbury’s and Whitbread. An ILM accredited Executive Coach, she is passionate about developing people to their fullest potential, through access to the best learning solutions. Currently working in the field of Diversity & Inclusion means she cares about ensuring great development is equitable, regardless of how you identify. Janet is naturally curious, always reading something new and enjoys developing herself as well as others.
Session 2: The impact of COVID on women’s learning and employment
Thursday 16 June, 10-12pm
As a talent, learning & inclusion professional my passion, and the reason I was thrilled to share evidence with the Forum, is in ensuring all are supported to develop and succeed.
We know that hospitality is a sector dominated by women and this has meant women have borne the brunt of the impact of the pandemic on the industry. Within Whitbread, 64 per cent of operational employees are female. Where cuts have had to be made, these have disproportionally fallen on women. Around 90 per cent of staff have been furloughed at some point within the last 12 months meaning again that women have been disproportionately impacted. We have also heard plenty of anecdotal evidence around the reinforcement of gender stereotypes throughout this, women asking to be put on furlough for example, as they are taking on more of the childcare responsibilities. And the physical and psychological effects of furlough are just beginning to be felt. In addition to this, whilst every effort has been made to ensure apprenticeship programmes are kept running, internal development programmes have suffered as a result of closure and of smaller budgets. It means many employees have missed out on the training and progression opportunities they would usually have access to. There haven't been the opportunities to progress, and again it is women have mainly lost out.
The challenge is to take action that reaches everyone that needs it. We need to carefully consider all groups – women – and others facing the uneven impacts of the pandemic. And those who have been doubly disadvantaged due to a combination of factors. The solution needs to be inclusive and tailored to specific circumstances. Moving forward we need to be thinking about how we best develop our talent to mitigate the long-term impact. We must think carefully about making development opportunities attractive and accessible to women. And about the sponsorship, mentoring, and role models we have in place. Flexible working, if we get it right and avoid the pitfalls, is another key enabler to supporting underrepresented groups access and progress in the workplace. Attracting, developing, and retaining more diverse talent is the key to the success of the industry.