As we celebrate International Women’s Day and announce the winners of our Inspiring Women Awards we took some time to talk to members of the bmFamily💜💚 . We wanted to hear who inspires them and what we can do to drive equal opportunities for all.
Inspirational Women within bartlett mitchell
Gregory
I’m always inspired by Wendy Bartlett, Founder and Chair of bartlett mitchell and Lin Dickens, Marketing Director. Both are strong role models not just within our company but also within the hospitality industry. Both Wendy and Lin drive the fire inside me, to want to do better and do more to support those in our industry along with my clients, teams and co-workers (both in operations and in my D&I role).
Tripti
Sally Grimes is my inspiration within bartlett mitchell. Stepping into my management role I learnt from her the importance of compliance. Following her guidelines and meetings have enabled us to ace all our internal and external audits, including the clients independent audit. She is always one step ahead in health and safety training. Returning to work after the pandemic her Covid-safe rules enabled our client and their staff to feel reassured and safe, which makes us on the frontline confident in the services we provide.
Diana
There is a great company culture within bartlett mitchell. We all support and inspire each other.
Dorrianne
During this pandemic it has been refreshing to see more faces and personalities shine through. We are very lucky to have a huge number of inspirational women working at bartlett mitchell. For me, I would have to say Wendy and Lin. Wendy for her sheer tenacity and resilience and somebody who sticks by her values. A leader who makes herself visible – I have never known an owner of a company to call me up and ask how I am doing! Lin for her calmness, knowledge and empathetic nature. Both live by values I strongly believe in and I try to strive to live by too.
Murray
When I started at bartlett mitchell, Wendy Bartlett was effectively the Area Manager for the site I worked at. From day one I found her drive and energy for development of others very inspiring.
Stuart
I have had the pleasure of working with Tripti for over the last 6 years. Tripti, through her hard work and dedication, has progressed from her original role as General Assistant to Hospitality Supervisor for one of our clients. Tripti is an absolute inspiration, as well as being a single mum, raising her 2 boys, she is always focused on delivering the highest level of service to our clients. Tripti was recently recognised, by our client in their internal awards for her outstanding contribution to customer service.
Do you feel bartlett mitchell is an equal opportunities workplace?
Gregory
Yes, absolutely! Within bartlett mitchell, we call ourselves a family – the #bmFamily💜💚. This was at the forefront of our core DNA when our Founders set up bartlett mitchell 20 years ago. This family mentality and our sense of looking out for each other paved the way for inclusive conversations amongst our teams around being ‘obsessive about our people’ and ‘open and honest’ which are two of our core values.
Being obsessive about our people harnesses the essence of diversity, inclusion and equality. It means that naturally, we have a drive towards ensuring every one of our #bmFamily💜💚 members feel that they can genuinely bring their whole self to work each day.
Tripti
Yes, when I joined bartlett mitchell it was woman-led, women were in most of their key positions and were decision makers. Many senior managers were loudly and proudly gay and were recognised for their talents and skills, and teams were made up of many people from different nationalities and races. Ability, hard work and a passion for what they did were the only qualifiers to work and progress in bartlett mitchell.
Diana
bartlett mitchell is definitely an equal opportunities employer
Dorrianne
Absolutely. In my experience it is refreshing to be a part of a company open to support you on your journey. I am lucky to visit many sites and can honestly say we have a fantastic, friendly and professional bunch of people working together to create sites to be proud of. There is an openness to grow and desire to be inclusive is evident. If you feel you sit in a minority group and want to be heard, there is a friendly and welcoming round table for you to sit at and be heard. I love learning about people and what makes us different.
Murray
Yes, definitely but there is always more to be done to ensure that this reality is effectively communicated externally
Inspiring role models
Gregory
I have always found role models to be crucial to mine and also others success as it helps to understand that people like me can be successful and can achieve better things. Within my D&I role, I see the impact that role models have on others – females, LGBT+, black and Asian ethnic minorities as it shows that people, like me, are able to succeed as they give that inspiration and drive needed.
An organisation that I have always admired and supported is Diversity Role Models. They started about 10 years ago by Suran Dickson who had a dream to help LGBT+ young people realise that being gay, or changing gender identity, is not synonymous with unhappiness, depression, lack of success, broken relationships and lack of family – some of the things that the media and statistics tend to focus on. Secondly, to help non-LGBT+ young people to see us as ‘real people’, with jobs, families, morals, humour, talent and drive.
Diversity Role Models actively seeks to embed inclusion and empathy in the next generation. Their vision, now and like at the start, is a world where everyone embraces diversity and can thrive. This will help create a world where future generations embrace, accept and support difference. They achieve this by creating safe spaces where young people can explore differences and consider their role in creating a world where we all feel accepted. Their student workshops feature LGBT+ or ally role models who speak openly about their lived experiences, building young peoples’ empathy so they can understand the (often unintended) impact of their language and actions.
Here’s their website and a short video to explain further.
Tripti
Having a role model is extremely important to have a positive influence on your outlook to life. It inspires us to lead our life to the same standard as they do and pushes us to work harder towards our aims and become successful. Role models help boost morale by using their traits to make the workplace an environment people enjoy being in, their attitude inspires others to do their best even when things are not easy.
Diana
The importance of role models is pivotal in helping to guide individual development. Furthermore, studies state role models as essential to career success.
Dorrianne
Brene Brown for her studies around courage and leading a generation into understanding the importance around empathetic style of leadership.
Greta Thunberg for her bravery and resilience for fighting the fight on creating a more sustainable world. She is amazing!
Jacinda Ardern for her all-round strength as a leader! I can go on…
These three ladies are highlighted because I feel something about them, and their beliefs resonate with me. It comes back to values and how they link with mine. There are certainly more people I could add!
How can we inspire the next generation of women within the hospitality industry?
Gregory
We can inspire the next generation with increased diversity activities across our sector, industry collaboration to tackle the challenges ahead and sharing best practice. I want us to drive forward our commitments within the BITC Race at Work Charter and the Women in Hospitality Travel Leisure Diversity Charter. Achieving our company goals – better inclusion and equality for all, across our minority groups driven by our diversity efforts will inspire.
Tripti
bartlett mitchell has already taken a step in the right direction by having a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. As a woman of colour on the wrong side of 40 and a Mother to 2 children they have addressed every one of my fears which sends out a strong message to women out there who are hesitant to join the hospitality industry. They are fair, inclusive and support and develop women to grow at their own pace. The women who work for bartlett mitchell are the best ambassadors and inspiration for the next generation of women in the hospitality industry.
Diana
The hospitality industry struggles with problems such as staff motivation, commitment and retention, whilst also having an entrenched glass ceiling that limits career opportunities for many women. Mentoring is a useful function to support and develop staff, and may be particularly important for helping women overcome gender barriers to progression.
Dorrianne
Everybody has the power to inspire, regardless of role. I believe bartlett mitchell already creates space for women (and men) to be that inspirational role model. Yapster (our internal communication channel) is a great platform for us to share, be inspired and understand how the company operates and where it wishes to go. Our D&I programme encourages us all to live an inclusive culture. Our company values around being entrepreneurial encourages us to be forward thinking and accountable for our own development – if you want it, go for it!
Murray
bartlett mitchell has many inspiring women in the company particularly at site manager level – having strong women in these visible leadership roles encourages women in the business, to show what they can achieve.
Stuart
One area, as a company, we are focusing on is the recruitment of more women into our kitchens as chefs. This is where we are striving to do better. Our #SheCooks initiative, is encouraging and supports female chefs to ensure this happens.
Within bartlett mitchell we have a strong equal opportunities ethos and as part of our further progress we are signing the WiHTL diversity charter confirming our commitment to ensuring all barriers to diversity are broken down.
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