Gender Equality at SANDEMANs

Making SANDEMANs NEW Europe a gender-equal working environment

At SANDEMANs NEW Europe, we are committed to creating a gender-equal working environment, and addressing barriers to women in reaching senior management positions – not only in our own organization, but across the wider tourism industry.

The tourism industry is in one of the largest employers in the world, accounting for one in 10 jobs worldwide, with females making up 60-70% of those jobs. However, like many industries, women are over-represented in lower-level positions, and under-represented in senior-level positions.

That’s why we’re committing to openness and transparency about gender balance at SANDEMANs, as well as working with both men and women to address barriers to achieving an equal opportunities workplace. Like most companies, we know we still have a way to go, but it’s our aim to both follow, and to help set, best practice policies in the area of gender equality in tourism.

See below how we promote gender equality at SANDEMANs

Our charter for equality

We believe in combating gender-based stereotypes

That’s why we share around common tasks, such as taking notes, or lifting boxes so that inherent social biases aren’t reinforced. We are also committed to telling anyone, no matter their position in the company, that jokes made at the expense of diversity and inclusion aren’t funny.

We believe in hiring all staff equally

That’s why we try to see a diverse range of candidates when we are short-listing for positions, and why we encourage capable internal staff to apply for promotions if they don’t put themselves forward. We also believe in being open and transparent about which skills are required to do the jobs in our organisation, so that people are encouraged to apply for promotions, or know what skills they need to develop to do so. Where possible, we look to make jobs flexible enough that those with family commitments aren’t disqualified from doing them.

We believe in assessing all staff equally

That’s why we conduct gender neutral performance reviews, that focus on tangible achievements, and actively consider that traits typically ascribed to males (such as confidence) and females (such as compassion) have equal merit regardless of who possesses them, so that if they are seen as positive in males, they are also seen as positive in females, and visa versa.

We believe in acknowledging all staff equally

That’s why we encourage people to say “we” if it was a team effort, but equally, to say “I” if it was a solo effort, and to discourage people from apologising for things that aren’t their fault (such as “sorry the projector isn’t working”). We also ensure that people aren’t talked over in meetings, and that individuals’ contributions to meetings are equally acknowledged.

We believe in developing all staff equally

That’s why we believe in developing mentoring relationships for both male and female employees, and in developing not only “classroom” skills related to people’s jobs, but also “personal” skills related to individuals’ development (such as personal branding, self-advocacy etc).