Abstract: The hospitality industry plays an important role in bringing people together in a global community and enables people to experience other cultures and see the world beyond their national borders. Women of color (WOC) comprise a large portion of the U.S hospitality industry’s lodging sector labor workforce; however, they are frequently hired into positions with little or no chance for career advancement into executive positions. The literature, which explores the career advancement of WOC, indicates that WOC career advancement journey is a slow, challenging, and complex journey, however there is a dearth of research related to the career advancement journey of WOC executives within the lodging sector of the U.S. hospitality industry. The purpose of the study was to understand the career advancement experiences of WOC executives in the lodging sector of the U.S. hospitality industry. Through interviews of 20 WOC executives the study findings revealed the facilitators and barriers WOC executives experience while advancing in their careers and also the role race and gender play in their career advancement experiences. The findings of this study call for Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals to develop programs and create environments that could help WOC in the development of their professional networks and in managing the demands of their career and family life. In addition, HRD professionals should collaborate with their organizational leaders to develop, modify, and implement processes to eliminate institutional biases and build a more inclusive and equitable work culture.
