Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
News

“Hospitality career progression should not be about luck”, panellist says

Be Inclusive Hospitality panel members agreed that progress requires employers to support their stated intentions with clear career routes, workforce data, training, investment and accountability.

3 min read
Share
Image 4
ADVERTISEMENT

Career progression in hospitality should be based on clear and consistent pathways rather than employees being in the right place when opportunities arise, an industry panellist has said.

The comments came during a launch event hosted by Be Inclusive Hospitality today, 28th September 2026, which brought together hospitality professionals to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the sector.

Lorraine Copes, founder and CEO of Be Inclusive Hospitality, opened the remarks by presenting key data from its latest Better Hospitality report.

The report found that 26.7% of respondents said career pathways were clearly defined and accessible.

It also found 21.1% of ethnic minority respondents believed they had been overlooked for progression because of their identity, compared with 6.4% of White respondents.

ADVERTISEMENT

A panel Q&A followed, led by culture consultant Alya Lilani, discussing the challenging assumptions and progress made within the hospitality sector.

This included Gemma Eley, people director at Hawksmoor; Junior Lewis, client director at Caterer.com; Karen Bosher, portfolio non-executive director (NED); and Gina Knight, head of people at Flat Iron.

Eley said: “Career progression should not be about luck.” 

ADVERTISEMENT

She referred to the need for clear and consistent routes into more senior roles. 

She said employees should not have to rely on being noticed by an individual manager or being in the right place when an opportunity becomes available.

ADVERTISEMENT

Eley added that employers needed to look at workforce data through a different lens. 

ADVERTISEMENT

This included checking who was promoted, who received training, who reached management and leadership roles and who left the business.

Lewis discussed the sector’s growth trajectory and the gap between diversity among frontline employees and representation at board level.

Lewis said: “Hospitality might have a diverse workforce on the floor but it still lacks the same level of representation among senior leaders and board members.”

He also provided advice on the next steps for organisations and attendees, including the need for accountability. 

ADVERTISEMENT

He suggested that organisations should set clear responsibilities and check whether inclusion commitments lead to practical results.

Knight discussed perceptions about where inclusion work was needed.

Knight said organisations may believe progress is being made because policies are in place, although employees might have a different experience when those policies were actually used in practice.

She also spoke about the gap between policy and delivery. 

This included how businesses handled concerns, progression, recruitment, performance management and workplace behaviour.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bosher discussed the richness of diversity and its link to business performance.

She said diversity needs to have a purpose and influence decisions at board and senior leadership level, and that it should not be limited to entry-level recruitment or the overall make-up of the workforce.

She also spoke about the need to challenge established practices, saying: “What you permit, you promote”.

This expressed that businesses could allow poor behaviour or unfair practices to become part of workplace culture if managers fail to challenge them.

She also called for financial commitment to improving board-level representation, rather than relying on policies or statements without funding.

Panel members agreed that progress requires employers to support their stated intentions with clear career routes, workforce data, training, investment and accountability.

Related