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Tuesday, October 9, 2018

A Note From My Experience at the Women In Hospitality United Movement


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 CafĂ©), 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