Why are women hotel general managers still so rare? We ask 5 from Hong Kong and Vietnam
- A non-family-friendly lifestyle and traditional male-leaning promotion paths are among reasons given why male GMs still dominate, but the needle is moving
- Hong Kong is upping its game – around one in five GMs across the city’s 300-plus hotels is now a woman
The hospitality industry has long lagged behind others when it comes to women holding the top jobs, notably as hotel general managers.
“It’s a very white, male industry,” says Dr Lalia Rach, founding dean of the hospitality programme at New York University, in the United States. “Is it changing? Yes. But it is changing glacially. Is it right and appropriate that so few women are GMs throughout the world? Of course not; there is no justification for continuing what we know are antiquated beliefs, ideas and practices.”
In Hong Kong, recent appointments have helped to shift the needle. According to the Hong Kong Hotels Association, around one in five GMs across the city’s 300-plus hotels is now a woman. We spoke to some of the most high-profile.
Kristina Snaith-Lense is the GM of The Upper House. The trilingual hotelier joined the property, located in Pacific Place, a retail, office and hotel complex in Admiralty, in 2012, having worked as manager at The Middle House Shanghai. “I am from Hong Kong, my children are the fifth generation of our family to be born here and I truly love this city that we are lucky enough to call home,” she says.
Why are there still so few female hotel GMs?
Snaith-Lense: “Typically, the GM role is heavily operational, with hours that do not necessarily appeal to everyone, regardless of sex, nor does it lend itself to enjoying family life. Traditionally, hotel GMs have even lived on-property, again a lifestyle which may be more of an acquired taste, not feasible with children.”