At Servigroup Hotels, we're marking International Women's Day

With spring just around the corner, the calendar brings us to another 8th of March: International Women's Day. It's a day when millions across the globe take a stand for gender equality, highlighting how there's still a gap we all need to work together to close.

Here at Servigroup Hotels, we wanted to show our support with a really visible gesture, lighting up our hotels in purple – the colour that's become synonymous with the day. But we're firm believers that gestures only mean something when they're backed up by real action.

In our company, we think the best thing we can do is lead by example, showing what equality looks like in practice, and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

Women Hold Over Half of Servigroup Hotels' Management Positions

Mavi Hernández has been the manager of La Zenia Hotel for fourteen years, though she's been with Servigroup Hotels for over thirty, holding various positions of responsibility. For Mavi, being a woman has never been a barrier to achieving her goals: "I've always believed that women are just as capable as anyone else of doing any given job. The challenge has been to seize every opportunity through hard work and doing things properly."

True to her belief, she's paved the way for other women, giving them the chance to take charge of departments where leadership roles, not that long ago, seemed reserved for men. La Zenia Hotel, for example, has a female bar manager running the floor and a female chef de partie, a vital role in the kitchens. And this is just one example of a philosophy that runs throughout Servigroup Hotels, where a remarkable 55% of management and senior roles are held by women.

In fact, eleven of Servigroup's eighteen hotels are managed by women, and Mavi, like her colleagues, is a prime example of strength and composure, leading a team that can reach a hundred staff in peak season, when the hotel hosts around five hundred guests. Quite a challenge!

Balancing work and personal life: the challenge for every woman

Where Mavi was talking about roles traditionally held by men, we're now moving to a department that's entirely female, with plenty of stereotypes to break down. Merche Osete is the head housekeeper at Calypso Hotel, responsible for ensuring every corner of the hotel – with a particular focus on the rooms, of course – is in perfect condition. She pays meticulous attention to every task, fully aware of how crucial her team is to the final result: "I've built this team of fifteen women on trust, day in, day out, and by helping them in any way I can, so they can handle a job that's just as tough, if not tougher, than those traditionally seen as men's work."

Merche highlights women's exceptional organisational skills when it comes to juggling their careers with their responsibilities at home, something that wouldn't be possible without the support of the company. But she also believes there are still many taboos to overcome: "And perhaps, when those taboos are gone, men will be interested in applying for a department like housekeeping, which is demanding and often unfairly undervalued. The younger generation already has a different view of this reality, and education is key to that.

Everyone has their own skills and talents, and it's equal opportunity that lets them shine

Ana Magro has been at the forefront of Servigroup Hotels' design department for over 25 years. She joined the company at 36, after a long career running her own screen-printing business, where she worked for theatre groups and a whole host of diverse clients: "I studied fine arts, and in my early days, I felt the camaraderie of men who taught me the trade in a very different context to today. My first computer worked "with a crank", and software programs took forever to carry out our commands."

Ana believes that, in her field, which is closely linked to art and creativity, women have been present from the start: "It's true that in the past, men took all the credit – just look at the walls of any museum and see the list of authors from the Golden Age. But it's equally true that women naturally have a special artistic sensibility that's now coming to the fore thanks to equal opportunities."

However, as Ana rightly points out, there's still a long way to go: "Our company makes numerous adjustments to accommodate the individual circumstances of many women, but it's true that in general, we still need to make progress towards achieving a genuine work-life balance, where a woman's career doesn't mean having to give up anything in her personal life."

In an equal environment, internal promotion allows women to reach their full potential

Amanda Steele was born in the UK but has lived in Spain for 42 years. When she arrived in Benidorm, she found a very different situation to today, where job opportunities for women in the tourism sector were limited to cleaning or restaurant roles. Amanda started at Servigroup Hotels as a waitress, but through hard work and confidence, she developed personally and professionally to become the Guest Service at Pueblo Benidorm Hotel.

There, she acts as a public relations officer and assists guests with matters beyond the hotel reception, making them feel at home and providing a supportive person who can help resolve any issues that may arise during their stay: "Working face-to-face with the public is wonderful, and nowadays, being a woman is nothing out of the ordinary. We're in all sorts of roles. It's true that sometimes I've had to prove myself more because I'm a woman when dealing with certain clients, but generally, it's all about respect."

Ultimately, for Amanda and her colleagues, it's a privilege to help make visible what should already be taken for granted in any environment: full equality of rights and opportunities between men and women. Through their examples, we've aimed to show what this means in the day-to-day life of Servigroup Hotels, with the hope that the time will come when it's not even necessary to mention it. It's in everyone's hands!