In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8th March 2023, Accor, the region’s largest international hotel operator, has reiterated its long-standing commitment to ensuring gender equality, wage parity and protecting women’s rights in every aspect of its business.

IWD has been marked for over a century, but more work is still required to create a gender equal world, free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. The theme of this year’s event is #EmbraceEquality – a concept that underscores Accor’s operations and underpins its future strategy and direction.

A total of 13,914 Heartists® – Accor’s passionate, inspiring associates – in Southeast Asia, Japan & Korea are women, including many General Managers and senior executives. The Group’s Middle East, Africa & Asia Pacific Executive Committee, under the leadership of CEO Duncan O’Rourke, now features a 50-50 female-male ratio, with Kerry Healy having recently been appointed to the role of Chief Commercial Officer for Premium, Midscale and Economy brands in a vast region that covers 44 countries. Alongside Kerry are Sarah Derry, CEO Pacific, and Shelley Perkins, Senior Vice President of Talent & Culture.

Accor has ambitious equality targets, which will see women account for 40% of its global Executive Committee members by 2025 (up from 32% in 2022), 40% of Accor’s General Managers being women by 2025 (compared to 31% at present), and 45% of female representation on the company’s Management Committees by 2025 (up from 39% in 2022). Today 42% of Accor’s Heartists® around the world are women, although this figure rises to 50% in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. The company firmly believes that when female employees are empowered to achieve their goals, the entire business thrives.

Accor is dedicated to protecting women’s rights and promotes a range of standards including equal pay between genders, strong representation of women in leadership positions, and enhancing education around gender-based violence, sexism and harassment in the workplace. In 2018, Accor launched RiiSE, an internal network dedicated to promoting diversity, sharing knowledge and combatting stereotypes, which focuses on the promotion of female talent into positions of responsibility.

To mark IWD 2023, Accor is celebrating its female Heartists® with DiscovHER, a collection of personal stories from women at every level of the company, all around the world. From 6-10 March 2023, a series of DiscovHER podcasts will profile some of Accor’s most inspiring women. Listeners can hear how Amery Burleigh, General Manager of Rixos Premium Seagate in Egypt, has successfully worked with different cultures in diverse regions, from the Americas to the Middle East; learn how Christine Choquel, Accor’s Deputy Group Chief Technology Officer, stepped out of her comfort zone and was enabled to follow her dreams by joining the “Women Up” leadership program; and discover how Isabel Chung, Executive Chef of Fairmont Orchid Hawaii, expresses her personality through her cooking and encourages other women to succeed. These podcasts will be available on the Group’s corporate website and Accor’s social network channels.

“Accor believes in building a workplace where women can thrive. The reality is that even in 2023 – over 100 years since International Women’s Day was founded – the world still has not achieved gender equality. Diverse workplaces with strong female executive representation are instrumental to shaping the culture of companies for the better. At Accor, we are dedicated to ensuring every woman has the opportunity to enjoy a successful, rewarding hospitality career,” said Garth Simmons, Chief Executive of Accor, Southeast Asia, Japan & South Korea. 

For more information about Accor, please visit group.accor.com.