.png)
Women’s Representation in Hotel Leadership Has Stalled, New Penn State Report Reveals
- Emily Goldfischer
- 3 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Overall representation of women in senior hotel leadership has stalled from 2022 to 2025, according to the 2025 edition of Benchmarking Diversity: Representation in Hotel Leadership, conducted by Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management. The latest hotel industry leadership data provides one of the clearest looks yet at women in hotel leadership across the sector.
Hospitality likes to think of itself as a people-first industry. The latest hotel industry leadership data tells a more complicated story about who actually holds power.
Since tracking began in 2019, women have strengthened their presence at the director, VP, and EVP levels. Yet representation at the most senior tiers of hotel leadership remains uneven.
The multi-year benchmark analyzes executive leadership rosters from 1,439 hotel companies, along with representation at major hotel investment conferences and on public hotel company boards. Together, the findings show that pipelines are improving, but access to capital-intensive and enterprise-wide decision-making roles remains elusive for women.
Key Findings from the 2025 Benchmark Report
Overall representation of women in senior leadership has stagnated from 2022–2025.
Gender parity has been achieved at the director level.
Women now account for 13% of Partner and Principal roles, more than double their share in 2019.
Women hold roughly one in four C-suite roles, concentrated largely in HR and Sales/Marketing.
At hotel investment conferences, there are 4.2 male chiefs for every woman chief.
Women account for roughly one-third of conference podium speakers.
In Investment and Development, men outnumber women 7.2 to 1, though the gap has narrowed since 2022.
Women now hold 28.4% of public hotel company board seats.
Gains in the Pipeline
Since tracking began in 2019, the strongest gains have occurred at the director, VP, and EVP levels. Achieving parity at the director level represents a meaningful structural shift from the early years of the benchmark. EVP and SVP representation has also climbed steadily over the tracking period.
Movement at the Partner and Principal level is particularly notable. While overall representation remains modest, women’s share has increased meaningfully since 2019, suggesting incremental progress in roles tied more closely to ownership and long-term strategy.
These improvements expand the pipeline. But the data makes clear that advancement beyond these levels remains uneven.
On Stage: Where Progress Slows
Managing Director and certain Chief roles continue to act as chokepoints. While representation at these levels is stronger than it was at the start of tracking, gains have slowed in the most recent reporting period.
The pattern extends beyond company org charts. Major hotel investment conferences remain central to dealmaking and influence. In 2024, there were 4.2 male chiefs for every woman chief in attendance. Women now make up roughly one-third of podium speakers, yet senior representation remains disproportionately male.
Visibility has improved. Senior authority remains concentrated.
The Functions That Matter Most
Representation varies sharply by function. Women now hold majorities or near-majorities in Human Resources, Sales and Marketing, and Revenue Management. Legal and Finance have also seen steady improvement since tracking began in 2019.
The most persistent disparities remain in Investment and Development, Technology and Information, and Asset Management. Gender diversity in hotel investment roles remains one of the most pronounced gaps within hotel C-suite representation and enterprise leadership. In 2025, there are still more than seven men for every woman in investment and development roles and more than six men for every woman in technology leadership.
These functions sit closest to capital allocation, ownership strategy, and enterprise-wide decision-making. Until women are more consistently placed in roles tied to P&L responsibility and investment oversight, progress at the very top will remain constrained.
Until women are more consistently placed in roles tied to P&L responsibility and investment oversight, progress at the very top will remain constrained.
Black Representation: Incremental Shifts, Persistent Gaps
The report also examines racial representation across hotel leadership. In 2025, Black leaders hold just over 2 percent of director-to-CEO roles, a slight decline from 2022. Representation decreases sharply at higher levels of seniority, with only one Black CEO or President for every 102 roles at that level.
There are signs of broader distribution across functions since 2019, particularly in Operations and Sales and Marketing. On hotel company boards, half of newly appointed directors in 2025 were Black.
Progress is visible, yet it remains uneven.
Boards: Gradual Change, Limited Turnover
Women now hold 28.4 percent of board seats at publicly traded hotel companies. Black directors account for just over 11 percent. These hotel board diversity statistics point to gradual improvement at the governance level.
At the same time, limited board turnover naturally constrains the pace of change. When seats do open, representation appears to be improving, but structural refreshment remains slow.
Room for Improvement in Hotel Leadership
Women make up a majority of the lodging workforce, yet remain underrepresented in the most senior leadership roles and in the functions that control capital and enterprise-wide strategy.
The pipeline is strengthening. Senior representation has stalled.
Whether the next reporting period shows renewed momentum will depend on who is entrusted with P&L ownership, investment authority, and long-term strategic decision-making. Let's get women in those roles!