Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort and Spa - part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) – has signed an agreement with the regional programme, Economic Integration of Women in the Mena Region (EconoWin).

The programme is implemented by the German Development Cooperation, known as GIZ, to promote the employment of women at private companies across the Mena region through Gender Diversity Management (GDM), a concept critical to the integration of women into the labour market.
Under this agreement, Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort and Spa and EconoWin will jointly plan and prepare for the implementation of a specific corporate gender diversity initiative, which promotes employment opportunities for women through GDM. The agreement was signed by Area General Manager of IHG Dead Sea Properties, Firas Irsheidat, and EconoWin’s National Project Manager-Jordan, Nour Moghrabi, at the Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort and Spa.

The GDM project, which will be implemented by Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort, aims at attracting, retaining and developing female talents in order to enhance business performance and, subsequently, increase the number of female workers in the hotel industry. This is achieved by rolling out campaigns that raise awareness on the nature of work in the hotel sector in Jordan, in addition to providing training opportunities that lead to employment.

Commenting on the agreement, Irsheidat said, “This agreement reaffirms our commitment to supporting all segments of the local community, as well as our efforts to back the Government of Jordan by contributing toward one of the pillars of the National Tourism Strategy, namely, increasing female participation in the hospitality workforce. Through our partnership with EconoWin, we will focus on showcasing the importance of working in this sector and tackling the culture of shame often associated with working in the field of tourism and hotels, particularly for women.”

Irsheidat added that the Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort and Spa will empower the women with the skills and knowledge needed to work in the hotel industry so that they may benefit from the work opportunities available at the Resort and Spa.

In turn, Moghrabi said: “Our agreement with Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort and Spa marks the beginning of our journey to address the challenges that face the hotel industry with regard to recruiting women. This corresponds with EconoWin’s goals to bring the practice of GDM to select companies. Through GDM, we aim for greater employment opportunities within the 20 companies we support in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. By applying this concept, the hotel will become better equipped to handle the difficulties faced in the field of recruiting, retaining and developing women who represent an essential pillar of the workforce.”

The GDM project aims at improving women’s integration into the labour market in order to enhance the performance of national economies through measures that improve companies’ performances. Consequently, employees’ level of job satisfaction will be raised, and the burdens incurred by companies as a result of employees transferring or quitting will be reduced. - TradeArabia News Service