Shelagh Mooney is Associate Professor and Research Lead at the School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa-New Zealand. Her research has most recently been focused on diversity, barriers to equitable employment and gender imbalance in tourism and hospitality. Shelagh collaborates with others in Australia, the United Kingdom and Scotland who also advocate for decent work in tourism. We interviewed Shelagh on her research and what the imperatives are for industry to change given the current tourism and hospitality workforce shortage.