Heidi Kunkel, vice president, operations, Australasia, Hilton, said, “We are honoured to be the only hospitality company in Australia to receive this wonderful recognition and as a WGEA Equal Pay Ambassador, I am personally committed to ensuring Hilton continues to embrace gender equality.”

The WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote active commitment to achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces. The criteria for the citation is highly regulated to ensure best practice and covers various areas such as leadership, learning & development, gender remuneration gaps, and diversity and inclusion.

Receiving this citation is an incredible testament to Hilton’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, as well as its leading practices and purpose-led culture that have built such an outstanding working environment across Australia.

Kunkel added, “Hilton has an unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences across every one of its 27 hotels across Australasia. We firmly believe that our 4,000 Team Members throughout the region are the heart to our success in delivering these experiences and with the knowledge of what diversity can bring to a workplace, we focus on creating coaching, mentoring and leadership development opportunities for all Team Members.”

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Heidi Kunkel, vice president, operations, Australasia, Hilton

Lydia Berlage, director, human resources, Australasia, said, “Diversity of gender and life experience is essential to the health, harmony and success of any workplace and Hilton is well on its way to achieving its gender equity goals with more women being elevated into leadership roles than ever, however there is still much work to be done.”

In early 2014, Hilton recognised that women and men have differing development needs in order to progress to leadership positions. From this the global Women in Leadership program was developed in Australasia in 2015.

Since launching, the Women in Leadership program has empowered more than 140 female Team Members in Australasia, assisting them in their career journeys. So far, 26% of participants have already been promoted or transferred within the company. Additionally, we are proud to have equal gender representation across the organisation.

Berlage added, “The WGEA EOCGE citation process is an opportunity for us to evolve our commitment to delivering equality in the workplace; ensuring women continue their upward trajectory in our organisation as we continue to appreciate the unique qualities and abilities that they bring to work every day.”

As part of the citation process, Hilton was also highly commended for its Thrive@Hilton initiative which completely evolves the way Hilton works and leads by creating more time for what matters most to Team Members so they can be at their best every day. The initiative aims to improve the health and happiness of all Team Members in Body, Mind and Spirit.

Hilton’s flexible work practices allow for customisation and personalisation in order to meet the distinct needs of each Team Members’ lifestyle, their location and their role, to encourage work/life balance. Examples of the various options Team Members have include work-from-home, flexible scheduling, compressed workweek, flextime, job sharing, and part-time working options.

Click here to view the Hilton Hotels & Resorts website.

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