Network group targets women

Women in the hospitality business who want to socialise after work but are turned off by the boys' club culture of the golf and rugby circuit are being targeted by a new organisation designed specifically for them.

The British-based Network of Executive Women in Hospitality is the first version outside the USA, where membership has grown to more than 1,000 in 14 chapters since 1984.

Su Pecha, the UK network's director of public relations, said many women who wanted to network outside work felt indirectly excluded by the sort of clubs set up by men.

Men may be admitted at a later date, but Pecha said other women-only organisations found the atmosphere changed dramatically when they let men in, becoming more overtly business-oriented.

Despite the "executive women" part of its name, the organisation wants members from all areas and levels of hospitality, from waitresses and chambermaids to general managers. "We want this to be as broad a church as possible," said Pecha. It now has around 30 members, largely around London.

The founding board all come from the marketing, design, equipment supply and consultancy side, which Pecha said was brimming with successful and dynamic women. She suspected it was tougher and more lonely for women on the operations side of hospitality.

by Angela Frewin