I was thrilled to read in TTG recently that, in partnership with easyJet, Brownies can now earn an aviation badge. Inspiring young people – especially girls – to think about a career in such a sector can only be a good thing.
It is well documented there is a real challenge recruiting women into certain roles: airlines struggle to find female pilots; cruise lines too with female captains.
The travel sector isn’t alone though, with industries like technology and engineering facing an even greater challenge.
This trend stems from a history of girls in school not being inspired or motivated to make choices that would empower them to be exceptional in certain roles. Sadly, I’m not the only woman who had home economics lessons while the boys were sent to woodwork.
It is great education is evolving to reduce gender and perception barriers, and that institutions like the Brownies and Guides do not push young women into just developing homemaking skills.
Seeing the glass ceiling rise and rise for the women leaders of the future is one of the most rewarding areas in business today.
In the travel industry, we can underestimate the opportunity we have to help shape young minds when we send families around the world to experience new things.
The young people we send on holiday have their eyes opened by the world around them, and in those few weeks of the year, we deliver a platform to inspire them to find a new passion.
That holiday you just sold could set a child o on a journey towards a great education and career.
I remember my own travels when I was young, including a trip to Berlin, where my mum’s family escaped from during the Second World War. I’m in no doubt my career in the travel sector was triggered by a desire to see more and to embrace as many different cultures as I could.
Think of the children on the holidays you’ve sold them this summer. There will be young eyes finding a passion for wildlife or ecology and youngsters embracing a few words of a new language that may create a lifelong passion for another nation.
I’m most excited by the idea of girls being inspired by a female captain on a plane or ship who sets an example to them. When you’re selling your next family holiday, consider the future brilliance you could be inspiring – on Celebrity Cruises ships you’ll find kids’ clubs reimagined as explorer academies, for example.
Travel has the power to enthuse and excite young minds like nothing else.
While not everyone will have a Brownies bobble hat in their loft like I do, we can all remember the promise and do our best to keep travel feeding future dreams.
