This International Women’s Day (8th March), Only A Pavement Away, the industry charity aiding prison leavers, veterans and those facing homelessness find employment in the hospitality sector, has announced the launch of a brand-new Women in Hospitality campaign and mentorship programme, A Seat at the Table.
The campaign, which will be announced at the Only A Pavement Away Time to Make A Difference Conference today, has been created to champion the hospitality industry as inclusive and a great career option for women facing homelessness. For its part, Only A Pavement Away has committed to supporting at least 250 women into purposeful careers in hospitality this year.
The mentorship programme, A Seat at the Table – Women Mentoring Women, has been launched to help female Only A Pavement Away members to progress in their careers within the hospitality industry, and to more broadly, support the sector in placing more women in senior leadership roles, a sizeable challenge given just 30% of all hospitality leaders are women according to a recent study[1]. The mentorship programme is open exclusively to women placed into employment by Only A Pavement Away and will match mentees with inspiring female leaders from across the industry to support them in achieving their respective career goals and help mentees tackle barriers in the way of them gaining senior leadership roles.
A Seat at the Table – Women Mentoring Women, will initially pilot with 4 mentorship partnerships, with each mentor committing to spending 6 sessions this year with their mentee, under the guidance of Only A Pavement Away career coach, Will Andrews. The ambition is to expand the programme to support many more Only A Pavement Away members, with many female senior leaders already signed up to be a future mentor.
The mentorship programme will form part of Only A Pavement Away’s broader Seat At The Table campaign, launched to champion the hospitality industry as a safe and welcoming place for women facing homelessness and increase the charity’s support specifically for women and their needs.
As part of the Seat of the Table initiative, Only A Pavement Away has committed to working with 4 new charities tackling domestic violence to both increase the number of women Only A Pavement Away is able to place into work, as currently 25% of members are women, and to raise awareness of the specific issues women face that may make them more at risk of homelessness.
The Seat at the Table campaign is being supported by female leaders from across the industry, with over 25 leading women and Only A Pavement Away’s employer partners delivering social content to raise awareness around the initiative across International Women’s Day.
Greg Mangham, CEO & Founder of Only A Pavement Away, says
“Through our work with people facing homelessness, and our close ties with hospitality, we know women face unique issues both prior to us working with them and when they are in employment. It’s our ambition, with the launch of the A Seat at the Table campaign, to raise awareness of these issues and to facilitate more female veterans, prison leavers and women facing homelessness to achieve stability through long term and meaningful employment. This campaign will help us deliver the end-to-end support needed to help our female members throughout their Only A Pavement Away journey.”
