Last week we celebrated International Women’s Day here at Retreats Group along with millions of others across the globe. We had a great response on our social media, with over 5,000 views of our reel, which featured some of our female team telling us which women inspire them. This prompted me to think more about this day and why it exists.
The history of international women’s day originated in America in 1909, following much unrest from the previous year, when women had been campaigning for equality, including better pay, shorter hours and voting rights.
The movement spread to Europe, where a woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day – a Women’s Day – to promote their issues and push for change.
During the 20th century various countries honoured women’s day, but it wasn’t until 2001 when a platform was launched to specifically reintroduce the day across the world and it became a marked day, celebrated by millions of women.
At Retreats Group our current team is 64% women, and our senior management team is 67% female. In what has been a very male dominated industry, I, as the general manager am proud to be leading a team which features so many women, and working for a company that recognises their talent, passion and motivation and paves the way for others in the hospitality sector.
Emma Bowen
General Manger
