On 6th March at ITB Berlin’s LGBTQ+ Tourism Pavilion Stage, we’ll be honouring the winner and runners-up of the third Gender Equality Champion of the Year Award. Entries are open until 20th January to tourism and hospitality businesses of all sizes – from one-woman operations, to globe-spanning firms. If you’re proud of your dedication to gender equality, we’d love to read your application.
The task of crowning our champion will fall to our judging panel, a team of six formidable experts on gender and tourism. Here we introduce them and hear why they believe this award is an important milestone in the industry.
Michelle Mason, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
Michelle Mason is the Social Impact and Destination Programme Manager for the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (the Alliance), which has been the lead sponsor of our award for three consecutive years.
In her role at the Alliance, Michelle leads initiatives that address critical social challenges in the hospitality industry, ranging from ethical recruitment practices to fostering community engagement. She also takes the lead in building destination partnerships, ensuring sustainable and socially responsible outcomes for all stakeholders.
As a sought-after public speaker, Michelle raises awareness about these pressing issues, inspiring industry leaders to take action and implement sustainable, socially responsible strategies. Her work empowers the hospitality industry to create meaningful social impact, benefiting employees, communities and the broader global ecosystem.
Speaking about the Award, Michelle shared her excitement: “It’s an honour to be part of the Equality in Tourism judging panel once again, where passion and expertise come together to celebrate organisations championing gender equality and empowering women. I’m eager to collaborate with the panel to help shape a future of excellence and inclusivity in the tourism industry.”
Dawn Briggs, Sojern
Dawn Briggs is Senior Director, Global Strategic Partnerships at Sojern, the world-leading travel marketing platform and our second Gender Equality Champion of the Year Award 2025 sponsor. She oversees strategy for global hotel chain and strategic partner relationships.
Dawn has spent nearly 20 years in the travel industry and has held positions at Travelocity as well as partnered with major airlines like United and Delta representing their media offerings prior to joining Sojern 11 years ago. She sits on the Americas Board of The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and is a founding member of Sojern’s Women’s Group, SoEmpowered.
Speaking about joining the panel, she commented, “I am honoured to be a judge for Equality in Tourism’s third Gender Equality Champion of the Year Award as I’m personally invested in promoting women, and equality in general, in the tourism and hospitality industry.”
Lucy Ferguson, UNWTO Consultant
Lucy Ferguson is an international specialist in gender issues in tourism. She has collaborated with UNWTO since 2010, and was the Lead Consultant for the second edition of the Global Report in Women in Tourism.
As part of the current UNWTO Centre Stage project, Lucy authored the “Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines for the Public Sector in Tourism” and the “Gender-inclusive Strategy for Tourism Businesses”. She has trained key public and private sector stakeholders across the tourism sector in a wide range of countries, as well as 65 new trainers to lead this training.
Lucy recently produced a study on women’s empowerment in tourism for the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
Hector de Calvo, Regenera Luxury
Also joining the panel is Hector de Castro, Chairman of Regenera Luxury, the world’s first certification for regenerative luxury hotels and retreats. Throughout his 25-year career he has led growth strategies and operations in four continents for both SMEs and Fortune 500 companies. He has been involved in hotel openings, conducted audits for renowned hotel brands such as SHANGRI-LA, or BANYAN TREE, as well as numerous eco-luxury boutique hotels.
Hector currently helps entrepreneurs and hotel owners implement highly profitable and regenerative models, while also investing in and supporting numerous social initiatives. His commitment to regenerative tourism inspired him to be a judge: “I am honoured to return to the judging panel for Gender Equality Champion of the Year. Strong social values and respect are indeed key pillars for regenerative tourism and a healthy global society.”
Rika Jean-François, MissionRespo, Queer Destinatons
With an academic background spanning topics like sustainable development, ethnic identities and quality management, Rika Jean-François was Head of ITB Corporate Social Responsibility for many years. Through this role, she championed human rights and diversity in the industry, as well as taking responsibility for the Indian subcontinent.
She continues to do so with her own company MissionRespo, and also supports Queer Destinations, a start-up that connects governments, destinations and companies related to the tourism industry with the LGBTQ+ community in order to create safer and more inclusive tourism experiences for all as their head of International Business.
Rika served through the years on the board of the IGLTA, the IGLTA Foundation, of the Pacific Asian Travel Association (PATA) and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). She is currently a board member of The Roundtable for Human Rights in Tourism, as well as of the Institute for Tourism & Development, supports many international sustainability committees and is a jury member at several global tourism contests. You’ll often hear her speaking at responsible tourism events.
Dr. Stroma Cole, Equality in Tourism
Chairing the panel is Equality in Tourism Co-director Dr. Stroma Cole. Stroma is a senior lecturer in tourism at the University of Westminster and combines her academic career with action research and consultancy.
Her work includes extensive research on tourism and water inequality; gender and empowerment work for UNCTAD; and community-based tourism research and training for the FCO in Mexico and for the EU in Rwanda. She was the Chair of Tourism Concern from 2007 to 2011, a charity promoting ethical tourism.
She summed up why we launched Gender Equality Champion of the Year: “As we continue our journey toward a more inclusive and equitable tourism sector, this award serves as inspiration for organisations worldwide.
“There is still much work to be done, but by recognising and rewarding gender equality champions, we aim to inspire others to follow suit.”
Submit your Gender Equality Champion of the Year Award 2025 application by 20th January. The shortlist will be revealed in February, before the award presentation at ITB Berlin in March. If you have questions about the application process, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Jaklien at jaklien@equalityintourism.org.
