Produced by: April Merenda, Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management
March 14, 2022
Since 1987, the United States has formally recognized the month of March as National Women’s History Month, a time when the nation shines well-deserved light on the amazing accomplishments of strong, determined women in the U.S.
Think about Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Steinem, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Kamala Harris, just a sampling of famous women in the United States who have spearheaded groundbreaking moments that will impact lives forever. From Susan B. Anthony’s groundwork Women’s Suffrage movement and her fight for a woman’s right to vote, to famed “firsts” like the first woman on the United States Supreme Court; Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to rocket into space; Sally Ride and the first slam ace in “the battle of the Sexes”, Billie Jean King. Every day women continue to amaze us with their ability to blast upward and outward, exemplifying not only “the change we want to see in our world,” but taking all of us, to new and exciting heights.
American women are unabashedly standing front and center in every aspect of our history, our culture, our society; making large contributions in business, education, the arts and sciences, sports, politics, the workplace, the home. We celebrate not only the famous newsmakers but the “extraordinary everywoman” the mothers, daughters, sisters, friends who shape the future. To paraphrase the famed advertising slogan - “We’ve come a long way, baby.”
Women have indeed come a long way evolving past the surface traits of 1960s-era independence and marking significant groundbreaking moments that will and should forever be remembered. Women in the U.S. comprise over half the population (50.6 percent) and continue to display their smarts, outnumbering men (over the past 14 years) in obtaining the most bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.
In the workplace, more than half of all management occupations are held by women, and according to a recent Fortune 500 list, women have reached a record-breaking high number of CEO positions. Today, in corporate America 51.8% of all management and professional occupations are held by women.
Despite the Pandemic when many women were forced to return to their homes, join the gig economy and even leave their jobs, more than 11.6 million women still own their own business, employ over 10 million people and generate over $1.7 trillion in annual sales to our economy. Yes, Women are continuing to shatter glass ceilings with their ability to “bring home the bacon as well as fry it up in the pan”
In my role as Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management and an Industry Professional at St John’s University, I have designed and implemented many small group travel tours for my students over the years. I especially marvel at the independent, go-get-it spirit of the young women among these groups. Witnessing as they spread their own wings, many for the first time, jet out of comfort zones, forge new friendships, and experience new cultures on their own. It is exhilarating to see a woman venture on a trip of self-discovery as they themselves, become a part of the larger mosaic of women we celebrate each March.
Today women are traveling on their own more than men. In a recent study from Overseas Adventure Travel, while 47% of travelers register as ‘solo' travelers an astounding 85% of those were women. Internet searches for “Solo Women Travel” are surging, growing to a jaw-dropping 230% increase in 2019. Massive interest in female-only travel can be found across social media platforms, with Pinterest showing a 350% increase in pinned stories on ‘solo female travel’. The latest rankings show American women as the world leaders in solo traveling and the most likely to take three trips or more solo trips in a given year.
I knew there was a growing demand for women-centric travel when I launched my travel business shortly after 9/11. Despite naysayers who questioned the timing, and a travel industry adjusting to dramatically different parameters, we successfully navigated unchartered territory facilitating small groups of women-only travel departures
worldwide.
Over the years some of our trips have experienced the worst-case scenarios including an evacuation during the Arab Spring revolution, dangerous weather conditions, aircraft equipment issues, sickness, and all matter of travel mishap, but never could I have imagined a scenario that would shut down worldwide leisure travel as the Pandemic did in 2020. Living in the suburbs of New York City I watched as my world became the epicenter for the virus and once again, the travel industry was turned on its head. Finally, In June 2021, we were back traveling and I led our first group of women to Iceland where vast landscapes, cascading waterfalls, and the thermal waters of The Blue Lagoon helped shed the mental and physical remains of our forced isolation.
There are countless, extraordinary American women who have earned their place to be celebrated to the fullest during Women’s History Month. As an educator at St. John’s University, I am particularly proud of the self-confident young women I have mentored to be tomorrow's leaders, particularly in the fields of business, hospitality, and tourism. They amaze me as they capitalized on the intellectual curiosity and creative spirit inherent in all young women and become productive members of society.
All the incredible women I have journeyed with on my tours are fearless flyers in their own right. I know Amelia Earhart is saluting them with a celebratory fly-by as well.
April Merenda has held key positions within the hospitality and tourism industry for over four decades and is also an Assistant Professor at St. John’s University and Program Coordinator for the MSIHM program at St. John’s University Collins College of Professional Studies. She recently published her business memoir It’s Your Life…Live IT! which is a testament to how resiliency, saying yes and following your passions led her to become a pioneer in the travel and hospitality industries.