My Thoughts on Diversity and Education

I know I'm about to ruffle some feathers and I'm ok with that because I firmly stand on this hill.

The travel industry has a diversity problem amongst its educational leaders.

I became incredibly frustrated about this as I was curating speakers for my annual event, Prep for Wave Week, this year.

Now, let me even clarify--there is not a lack of diverse voices, there is a lack of putting diverse voices at the forefront.

Now, let me also clarify, when I say diverse, I mean, in culture, ability, sexual orientation, and neurodiversity.

I'm sick of frankly seeing the same white men and women at the forefront.

There, I said it.

I'm not undermining the amazing talent amongst them, because there truly is incredible talent in our industry pool.

What is grinding my gears....the laziness.  The laziness to go outside of the norm and either search for or cultivate new or existing talent.

I attended a webinar on DEI in the industry thanks to Travel Unity, earlier this week, and it was so refreshing.  

I feverishly went to LinkedIn to start connecting with some of the speakers and attendees, who know about these issues and are welcoming this conversation to see how we can positively impact the industry and make sure there is more representation at all levels.

I'm not THE expert.  I'm not even AN expert on this issue.  But I know what I see and I know what I feel, and I know I'm committed to making a difference.

So much so that I'm committing to creating a database passion project that will elevate diverse speakers in the travel industry.

I know I can't change this on my own, and this passion project will just make a ripple, but I'm hoping if you're reading this, your curiosity has at the very least been piqued, and your guard hasn't been put up 10 feet taller.

I mean, people travel to connect with other cultures--those cultures should be also seen amongst the movers and shakers and workers in the industry.

We need diverse perspectives to better understand each other, so that everyone has a seat at the travel table, and feels included while they're at that table--<I'm looking at you restauranteurs and banquet facilities that have lackluster variety to handle special dietary needs!>  

But I'm also looking at you, host agency owner, cruise line executive, tour operator, tech customer service, {insert title here}, to encourage you to immerse yourself in these beautiful differences that make each and every one of us magnificent and an asset to the industry, so you can be ahead of our individual needs, and not trying to catch up.

In 2023, people with mobility disabilities should be given more dignity on international flights than what they are currently granted.

Open to having a longer conversation on this, so if you're ready, let's chat!  Email me at rita@steeryourmarketing.com, so we can open up the dialogue to uplift this modern and diverse travel industry we are so passionate for.