Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1401511
to grow," she said. "Minorities are excluded from succes- sion planning. When you have leaders at your company, they want to continue to stay in power." Junior, who recently became the YMCA of the Rockies' vice-president of Business Development based in Estes Park, Colo., said "telling them about DEI feels like reverse discrimination. When it is understood this is a business imperative – when leaders see and understand that a diverse workforce is a business imperative and they start to believe that those cases shown to them and under- stand it contributes to revenue growth, maybe there will be a shift in the paradigm of more inclusion in the work- place," said Junior, who spent 15 years as Director of Global Sales for MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas, Nev. Junior, who serves on the Diversity Task Force for Destinations International, said, for DEI to work, there has to be accountability tied to bonuses and salary increases. "I believe people do what they want to do," she said. "There needs to be consistent and constant training about conscious and unconscious bias. A constant conver- sation with leadership. The value of having a diverse workforce increases profit and drives innovation. You also have to engage the minority leadership that you do have." For change to happen in the industry, Junior said, 'It takes a village.' "Make sure we're advocating for self," she said. "We have to be educators. We have to do more. The same way these corporations build relationships with internship pro- grams is the same way they have to do with minorities." SHERRIF KARAMAT, 58, is the president/CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association. He has a mantra he says every day to remind him of what's important. "Every day I say, 'Our lives begin to end the day that we are silent about things that matter.'" When it comes to why there are so few Blacks in leadership positions within the hospitality industry, Karamat believes Blacks and other marginalized groups haven't had access to training and development. "If you think of the hospi- tality industry in its various aspects, the service industry – who are in those jobs," he asked. "The lion's share of the hospitality industry are usually Hispanic, Black, and Asian, but they all don't have the higher-level jobs. It has served well as an entry point into a career." Karamat said the missing gap is the mentorship and access to leadership positions. "We need more training and development for the minority community," he said. "They are not getting access to high roles. It's about hav- ing the opportunity for training and development. On the surface, it looks like hospitality is hiring a lot of people, but those people don't have access. When you don't get access, that's a problem." Karamat believes the onus to rise in the ranks lies at the feet of those Blacks wanting to climb the corporate ladder. "I don't care if you are Black, white, blue, or green, you have to show up," he said. "People have to be accountable. The ones you see that are highly successful – are boom, doing it. The one that thinks I'm not getting access – look at your role in that. What is my part in this? How do I own my actions for me? I would say that is starting to happen, but not enough of it is happening." When it comes to DEI, Karamat said he would switch the order of the letters. "In order for us to go forward we have to be inclusive first," said Karamat. "It's not about our skin color. In certain instances, we can all look different, but we think the same. Being inclusive of gender, race, and disability. But also be inclusive of different ideas so we can grow. The second part is equi- ty. We must have equity. Yes, they are employed, but it's about being equitably employed. Access is also impor- tant to education, roles, and opportunities. Third, peo- ple must feel they belong. Are we fostering cultures? Diversity is an outcome. That's how I approach this one hundred percent." PAUL VAN DEVENTER, 61, is the president/CEO of Meeting Professionals Int-erna- tional. He admits he's at a loss as to why more Blacks have not risen to leadership positions. "I can't answer it," he said. "I don't know. I don't know why we are where we are. It's not unique. We are not the only industry that has significant gaps. The race, gender, equality gap. Within our industry the majori- ty of the leadership are males." Van Deventer said many organizations don't fully understand the dynamics at play or how to address them, let alone make them better. "We can no longer remain silent, or passive," he said. He challenged corporations to "make space at the table for those who may look, or think differently," by expand- ing who they recruit, hire and mentor as the industry reskills and up-skills the tourism/hospitality community. "As a white person, what I need to do is move beyond a passive acceptance of others and become proactive when it comes to making a difference," said Van Deventer. "We need to drive change. All of us have to move past passive to proactive and be pushing and driv- ing not just accepting. I view myself as very open-mind- ed, but that's not good enough. It's about calling out oth- ers. Others need to do that as well. I need to drive a change. I owe that back to our industry and our society to leverage those platforms I have." B M & T ••• July/August 2021 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 35