Solutions.

All signs point to funding.

Getting capital into the hands of women—especially WOC, queer and trans women—is the most effective way to catapult them into leadership positions and break this industry’s historic cycle of masculinization. We all have the power to participate here, because as diners, we hold immense power. We choose who to fund every time we go out to eat.

Venture capital also has work to do: globally, only 7% of top venture capital partners are women and less than 2% of all venture funding goes to women (Hospitable Bridge). Directing significantly more of this capital towards women-owned businesses is an urgent priority.

Pay restaurant workers.

Increasing the federal tipped minimum wage to $15/hour (from its current $2.13/hour) will provide increased financial security to all hourly hospitality workers, but especially to primary caretakers and to women of color. As proven in this project’s Babies section, it’s currently financially untenable to be a mother and a restaurant worker. This is particularly the case for BIWOC: Black women in tipped hourly positions, for example, earn $4.79/hour less than their white men colleagues (Mackinnon & Fitzgerald).

Raising the tipped minimum wage will also help women feel safer at work. If they are not reliant on tips for income, they can stand up to or speak out against customers who are verbally, physically or sexually harassing them. In short: this change will help make restaurants a sustainable, long-term career path for women.

A mentor opens doors, and a sponsor walks through them with you.

Mentorship for women is an essential tool in career development, across industries. Sponsorship, though, can take this work further. Sponsors take a more proactive approach in creating and advocating for opportunities for their sponsees. Women are often less likely to ask for this kind of help than men and have a harder time accessing the networks that provide it.

More formal programs for women sponsorship will help close this access gap. As will inter-gender sponsorship: while there are distinct advantages to women sponsoring women, building these kinds of relationships across gender identities will help break down gender barriers and get us to more equitable leadership models faster. Inter-industry sponsorship is also an important consideration. The restaurant community is a supportive but insular one, and women aspiring to leadership positions could benefit from sponsors from different professions.

Continue thinking critically.

Food media and awards have already started to rethink who gets media coverage and who wins awards, and there are a few ways this work can continue. Media should champion the stories of restaurant people who are not men and not white, as well as work towards eliminating gendered language. Describing women chefs as “female” and “badass” only reinforces their status as other.

Awards should also eliminate “female” categories—the longer we have separate categories for women chefs, the longer it will take for them to achieve the same status as men. Lastly, introducing quotas and being transparent about nomination and selection processes will go a long way in helping women earn industry awards in higher numbers.

Prioritize Human Resources.

Many restaurants opt for creative services ahead of those that serve the wellbeing of their employees. Flipping this model will ensure that creating safe working environments is front of mind for every business owner.

Human resources is also a field dominated by women, which means that hiring them directly creates paths to leadership.

Diners can do better.

Those of us with the means to dine out, and the privilege to be choosy about it, should research the ownership and management models of the restaurants we opt to support. Yes, a burger at a restaurant that provides its employees with health care, parental leave and a living wage is going to be more expensive than that same burger at a restaurant not taking those steps. But springing for that burger is a small move with a big impact.