WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Female
business leaders from Mexico
gathered on Tuesday, January 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 non-profit 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.
In 2014, JW Marriott and Vital Voices developed the program
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. 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. With 69
hotels around the world, the JW Marriott brand is committed to
sourcing supplies and services from women-owned businesses.
"Marriott's co-founders 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, Vice President & 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, Tuesday's 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. (NASDAQ: MAR), and
Alyse Nelson, Vital Voices
President & CEO. Speakers and panelists included:
- Mitzi Gaskins, Vice
President & Global Brand Manager, JW Marriott Hotels &
Resorts
- 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 & Vital Voices Mexico
- Belen Alonso, Director of
Sales, JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City & VV GROW Mentor
- Marisa Porrua, General
Director Arte Irrepetible & VV
GROW Mentee
- Sylvia Sanchez Alcantara,
Founder, Retos Feminios & 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 Former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton at the 2013 Clinton
Global Initiative Annual Meeting where more than 25 organizations
came together to track and measure at least US$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. In 2014, Marriott International provided
tremendous support towards this effort, identifying and spending
nearly $3 million with WBEs outside
of the U.S., while the JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand
collectively spent well over $30
million with diverse-owned businesses.
About Vital Voices Global Partnership
Vital Voices Global Partnership identifies, invests in and brings
visibility to women around the world by unleashing their leadership
potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in
their communities. The Vital Voices Global Leadership Network
includes more than 14,000 leaders representing 144 countries who
have trained and mentored 500,000 additional women and girls in
their communities. Based on its experience with women business
owners around the world, Vital Voices has launched the VV GROW
Fellowship Program, a one-year program to support growth-oriented
women business owners to take their businesses and leadership to
the next level. This signature program is tailored to support
women-owned enterprises in Latin
America and the Caribbean,
the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa with a
unique blend of online learning, in-person training, and
individualized support services. www.vitalvoices.org
JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts
JW Marriott is part
of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of
beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort
locations around the world. These elegant hotels cater to today's
sophisticated, self-assured travelers, offering them the quiet
luxury they seek in a warmly authentic, relaxed atmosphere lacking
in pretense. JW Marriott properties artfully provide highly
crafted, anticipatory experiences that are reflective of their
locale so that their guests have the time to focus on what is most
important to them. Currently, there are 69 JW Marriott hotels in 26
countries; by 2020 the portfolio is expected to encompass more than
100 hotels in over 30 countries. Visit us online at jwmarriott.com
and on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Visit Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) for
company information. For more information or reservations, please
visit our web site at www.marriott.com, and for the latest
company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.
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