“Women have always played an important part in the culinary world,” says Ashley Rose Young, historian of the American Food History Project at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. “Whether it is as restaurant owners, chefs in the kitchen, front-line workers managing supply chains, women have been and continue to be creative, resilient, and inspiring.”
To shed some light on the situation in South Africa, we sat down with eight women from Capsicum Culinary Studio – a company that proudly has a majority of women in top leadership positions including Managing Director Renee Hill – and asked them few pertinent questions. They included Candice Adams, Academic Operations Manager; Ann Nagan, Campus Head, Durban; Nandile Bongekile Mtshaha, Lecturer, Durban Campus; Charne Wylie, Senior Lecturer, Pretoria Campus; Sharon Visagie, Lecturer, Durban Campus; Andile Magwaza, Lecturer, Durban Campus; and Larozaan van Zyl, Lecturer, Pretoria Campus.
What does it mean to you to be a woman working in the food industry?
Sharon Visagie: It was a tough journey, and I was often overlooked for promotion in favour of male counterparts on the same level, despite the talent and performance was shown. I recall an instance where I was in a conversation with the general manager of a hotel I worked at many years ago. He shrouded the conversation in a veil of “candour”, in order to soften the blow, where I was told that the owners would rather have a man as the leader of their team. I chose to walk away and open my own business before venturing into the culinary education sphere.
AN: The hospitality and culinary industry are tough industries to work in be it for men or women.But I am a firm believer that having the right attitude and determination is all you need to succeed and achieve your goals. I have always believed in myself and my abilities, and say yes to opportunities and never allow self-doubt and fear to stop me from achieving my career aspirations. I have always had a strong positive mindset, and a determination to succeed within my career and I believe it is my determination and work ethic that has seen me achieve my current position. Hard work never goes unrecognised.
CA: It’s a tough industry to make it in as a female and often we have to work a lot harder to get ahead. More than 60% of the workforce in the hospitality and culinary industries are made up of women, but few are in leadership positions. I believe women are the backbone of this industry. Over the past few years there has been an immense effort from all sectors of the industry to create a more equitable work environment where women are acknowledged and recognised as well as given fair opportunity to access leadership roles. A huge accolade is owed to everyone who continues to play a role in bringing this to the fore and impacting business through this approach.
Nearly half the food industry workforce is made up of female workers, but only a few rise to management positions. How do we change this?
AN: I believe change must start within companies. Driving this change within organisations needs to start from the very top. Companies need to be clear on what their corporate culture is and commit to ongoing gender diversity. I do not believe in forced quotas, but I do believe we need to look at new ways of hiring, new ways of connecting and supporting each other, regardless of the gender. Creating fair and transparent hiring, compensation, evaluation, and promotion policies will help toward narrowing the gender gap. I believe strongly in inclusion and diversity in the workspace and I am fortunate to be a part of an organisation such as Capsicum Culinary Studios that embraces diversity and inclusion and invests in their staff to ensure their upward mobility.
NBM: By giving women the same opportunities that are given to men and allow them to change the narrative. Give them the same support and assistance; allow them to lead like how they would lead a household. If they can run households, why can they not run organisations?
CW: Women must stand their ground and fight for their position, but it also starts with management. The best person for the position should be appointed. A promotion should never be based on gender.
SV: It’s about changing the narrative; about shattering the ideology that woman cannot juggle their work and private lives successfully. She has children. So do most of the men. Stamina? Most women I know have equal drive, passion and vigour than their male counterparts in the industry, if not more.
CA: I think through continued collaborative effort we have the ability to influence this statistic. We need to start moving business into a culture of equity around female and male counterparts in leadership teams and building sustainable, meaningful development plans for high potential females. If we can build strong mentorship programmes, invest in our workforce and in the youth, we have a meaningful chance of being impactful in changing this.
What would you like to see happen in the next five years for women in the food industry?
CW: I would love to see more women chefs getting three Michelin stars; being someone young, aspiring chefs can look up to; and getting that executive chef position she deserves and worked hard for.
SV: I would like to see more female Executive Chefs. Not all women enjoy the limelight but knowing that there are more women in high-ranking positions will change the culture of the industry.
CA: All I want to see is us continuing to support and cheer for each other, to continue coming together to build a better industry for us all, and for ALL females in our industry hear one simple message: You are worthy of being here and you have the potential for immense success. You do not need to shrink or lower your voice to make others feel comfortable.
AN: Better representation of women on executive teams, boards of directors, decision-making and leadership roles within culinary and hospitality. More women culinary entrepreneurs, hospitality business owners and female executive chefs. Finally, more avenues for mentoring of women within the industry as I believe empowered women go on to empower others.
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