FEDHASA Inland General Manager
Tshidi Mkhosana has spent her career at the heart of an industry she believes in deeply – not from the outside looking in, but from the inside, doing the work. As General Manager of FEDHASA Inland, she’s the connective tissue between the association and the hospitality businesses it serves, facilitating conversations, amplifying voices, and creating the conditions for the industry to grow. What drives her is not a particular event or milestone, but the knowledge that the work makes a difference to real people and real businesses.
This Women’s Month, Tshidi speaks with characteristic directness about transformation and the generation of women she sees coming through with the confidence to claim their place at the table without waiting to be invited.
1. What first drew you to hospitality and tourism, and what’s kept you in it all these years?
What first attracted me to the hospitality and tourism industry was the people. Hospitality is an industry built around relationships, service, and creating experiences, and I have always enjoyed working with people and being part of something that unites them.
Over the years, what has kept me in the industry is its diversity and the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution. No two days are the same. The industry constantly challenges you to adapt and grow.
Through my journey with FEDHASA, I have also had the privilege of working alongside passionate industry leaders and businesses, which has given me a much deeper appreciation of the important role hospitality and tourism plays in our economy and in creating opportunities for people.
2. Women are still underrepresented in senior roles across the industry. What do you think businesses should be doing to change that?
Businesses need to move beyond simply talking about transformation and create real opportunities for women to progress.
This starts with identifying talented women early and deliberately investing in their development through mentorship, leadership programmes, training, and exposure to decision-making. We also need workplace environments where women are given the same opportunities to lead and take risks as their male counterparts.
Importantly, businesses should also look at their promotion and succession processes. If women are consistently doing the work but are not being considered for leadership positions, then we need to ask why.
As an industry, we should be creating a pipeline of women leaders rather than waiting until senior positions become available and then asking where the women are.
3. Looking back on your career, what’s the achievement you’re proudest of, not just for the result, but for the difference it made?
One of the things I am most proud of is the contribution I have been able to make through FEDHASA to support hospitality businesses and the people behind them.
For me, success is not only about a particular event or number on a report. It’s about knowing that the work we do creates value for our members, gives businesses a platform to have their voices heard, and contributes to strengthening the hospitality sector.
I am particularly proud of the relationships I have built over the years. Being able to connect people, facilitate conversations, support businesses through challenges, and create opportunities for collaboration has been incredibly rewarding.
The greatest achievement is knowing that, in some small way, the work I do helps make a difference to the industry and to the people working within it.
4. What advice would you give a young woman just starting out who wants to end up in a leadership role one day?
My advice would be: do not wait for someone to give you permission to lead. Start developing your leadership qualities now.
Be willing to learn, ask questions, and take on responsibilities that challenge you. Build your knowledge and never underestimate the importance of relationships.
I would also encourage young women to find mentors and people who will challenge them to grow. You don’t have to know everything, and you don’t have to have the perfect career plan from the beginning.
Most importantly, believe in your own ability. There will be moments when you question yourself, particularly when you are in rooms where you feel you don’t belong. Walk into those rooms anyway, prepare yourself, speak up, and make your contribution.
5. What makes you feel positive about the next generation of women coming into tourism and hospitality?
What gives me hope is the confidence, ambition, and diversity of the young women entering our industry.
They’re coming into hospitality and tourism with new ideas, digital skills, different perspectives, and a willingness to challenge traditional ways of doing things. I believe that is exactly what our industry needs.
I’m also encouraged by the growing recognition that women must be part of the conversations where decisions are made. We still have work to do, but there’s a growing generation of women who are not afraid to aspire to leadership.
As an industry, our responsibility is to open the doors and ensure that when these young women are ready to lead, they have the support, skills, and confidence to do so successfully.
When women succeed, the industry succeeds.
