Are We Truly Diverse: Investigating the Diversity in Hospitality and Tourism Faculty within the United States

Both practice and research within the hospitality and tourism field have grown increasingly concerned with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Yet while a significant and growing body of research has looked into the drivers and effects of representation in the workplace, very little has investigated the state of diversity in hospitality and tourism faculties. This is a serious oversight, as faculty diversity has been linked to a number of individual, organizational, and societal benefits. Drawing on an in-depth investigation of the racial/ethnic and gender makeup of 57 hospitality and tourism programs in the United States, our results indicate that white and male faculty are overrepresented in research and teaching roles. If academia aims to create knowledge for an increasingly diverse industry while teaching and guiding an increasingly diverse student body, there is a need to diversify the faculty. The results of this study indicate that there is much work to be done to achieve this goal.