WASHINGTON, DC—Female business leaders from Mexico gathered on Jan. 13 at the JW Marriott Mexico City to celebrate the debut of “JW Voices for Women,” a program to advance opportunities for women in Mexico and globally through mentoring. The partnership will empower JW Marriott’s high-performing female hotel leaders to engage with women-owned businesses in their respective markets. The effort is driven by a long-term strategic brand partnership between JW Marriott and Vital Voices, a global nonprofit that trains and mentors women to enhance their leadership and economic opportunity.
“The JW Voices for Women program will provide unique opportunities for women entrepreneurs and business leaders in countries like Mexico—where the full participation of women in the workforce is crucial to achieving sustainable economic growth,” said former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a letter shared at the kick-off event.
JW Marriott and Vital Voices developed the program last year while collaborating on the launch of the new Vital Voices Mexico City chapter and a local mentoring program. “JW Voices for Women” leaders have been appointed in Mexico City and Dubai with additional markets to follow in 2015.
Piloted at the JW Marriott Mexico City, “JW Voices for Women” provides valuable career development and networking opportunities for women around the world, according to the company. The partnership with Vital Voices is also helping to meet hotel revenue and supplier diversity goals and grow the hotel’s reputation within its local market.
“Marriott’s cofounders were J.W. and Alice Marriott, a husband-wife team who ran a root-beer stand in Washington, DC in 1927. Alice was our first chef and accountant, so women have always been at the heart of our business,” said Mitzi Gaskins, VP & global brand manager for JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts. “As a global hospitality brand, we are welcoming to all people, and a culture of diversity and inclusion is in our DNA.”
Created as a forum to educate and empower women, the Jan. 13 event featured networking activities for more than 100 women who attended. There were two panel discussions about the economic and career challenges women still face in Mexico; the importance of investing in the power of women to drive change; and the powerful results of mentoring and its impact. Panel discussions were moderated by Kathleen Matthews, chief global communications and public affairs officer, Marriott International, Inc., and Alyse Nelson, Vital Voices president & CEO. Besides Gaskins, speakers and panelists included Lucy Lara, editor-in-chief, Glamour Mexico & Latin America; Cintia Angulo, president and director, Alstom Mexico; Eugenia Podesta, director, Latin America & the Caribbean, Vital Voices; Luz Maria de la Mora, Founder, LMMConsulting and Vital Voices Mexico; Belen Alonso, director of sales, JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City and VV GROW mentor; Marisa Porrua, general director, Arte Irrepetible and VV GROW mentee; and Sylvia Sanchez Alcantara, founder, Retos Feminios and Tu Reto Emprendedor.
“We are delighted to deepen our partnership with JW Marriott Hotels through the new JW Voices for Women program,” said Alyse Nelson, president and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership. “We believe that it’s critical that companies and their leaders follow JW Marriott’s example in using the power of mentoring to support the career development of women entrepreneurs in Mexico and elsewhere around the globe. Harnessing the passion and excellence of JW Marriott’s female leaders will undoubtedly deepen the success of the women entrepreneurs in our global network.”
The JW Marriott partnership with Vital Voices is part of a larger commitment to action announced by Clinton at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, where more than 25 organizations came together to track and measure at least $1.5 billion in money spent with women-owned businesses based outside the U.S. over the next five years, and to bolster the supplier readiness of 15,000 women entrepreneurs around the world.