On September 24, 2018 I was invited to New York to be a part
of a think tank. Our mission was to come up with resolutions for issues women
face in the hospitality industry. Attendees was broken into groups to focus on
the following issues; Working Parents, Mental Health, Mentorship, Financial
Literacy, Wage Gap and Poster Group. In attendance were 75 women from every
spectrum of culture, career and location along with a hand full of male
supporters of the cause. The vast variance of women was extremely useful
because it brought many different experiences, options and agendas to the
discussion. Our meeting started at 9 am and could have gone on until the next
day, but we adjourned around 4:30 to share with each other our ideas of
resolution.
I was part of the
mentorship group. In my group were 12 highly inspiring women, Chef Nisse
Lovendahl and I (Chef Meika Johnson of DFW Cooking Parties)was tasked with
leading the group of industry leaders. In addition we had Chef Vertima Dumas(personal
Chef), Chef Elle Scott (founder of SheChef.org and American Test Kitchen
Personality), our moderator Caroline Fidanza (culinary director), Alison Price
Becker (founder of Alison Group Strategy & Management) , Chef Anakaren
Ibarra (Happy Gillis Café), Haley Baron (Director at Pineapple Collab), Chelsea
Bailey(Ohio Restaurant Association), Brie Garner, Chef Christina (Wythe Hotel),
Delores Tronco (Owner The Banty Rooster). Let me tell you these are some
amazing women who have worked hard to establish themselves. I am still in awe
of the brilliance I was surrounded by.
If I had to pick on topic that resonated with me was wage
transparency, this came from the Wage Gap group. It’s a fact that men get paid
more than women across the career board.
The resolution to this problem is to get everyone openly talking about
what they are being paid.
Please follow @womeninhospitalityunited and the women
associated with this movement. Let work together to level the field.
· Mental Health, submitted by Sarah Jane Curran
· Financial Literacy/Education, submitted by
Andrea J Carbine
· Mentorship & Negotiation, submitted by Meika
Johnson and Nisse Lovendahl
· Wage Gap, submitted by Naz Riahi
· Working Parents, submitted by Suzanne Barr
· Harassment/Gender Discrimination Graphic,
submitted by Sophia Brittan
