Woman's Work (Restaurants USA, June/July 1997) | National Restaurant Association

June/July 1997 issue

Woman's Work

Restaurants USA magazine's final issue was published in September 2002 but these archived articles remain available for our readers' convenience.

Restaurants USA, June/July 1997

Women members of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors share their secrets for succeeding in the restaurant/hospitality industry — whether it's in the kitchen or board room
By Jenny Hedden

Eighteen years ago, Gretchen Mathers was an anomaly. Even though women's liberation and the sexual revolution granted women more freedoms and more options, it was still rare in 1979 for a woman to finance and open a business. That didn't bother Mathers. "I knew what I wanted to do, and I did it," says Mathers, now the operating partner of Seattle-based Gretchen's of Course, a division of Schwartz Brothers Restaurants.

It's that kind of conviction that has allowed Mathers — and women like her — to succeed in every segment of the restaurant/hospitality industry. The number of women-owned eating-and-drinking-place firms climbed 41.4 percent between 1987 and 1992, according to figures recently released by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Women now own more than 128,000 eating-and-drinking-place establishments — more than one-third of all such U.S. operations.

During the past decade, women have made significant progress in the restaurant/hospitality industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the total number of women employed in the food-preparation and service occupations in 1985, only 6 percent were supervisors. In 1995, the number of females holding supervisory positions increased by 34.5 percent to top 260,000, accounting for 68.9 percent of all food-preparation and service supervisors. Now when you see a woman in a dining room, she isn't necessarily the hostess.

A kinder, gentler kitchen

Not only have women changed the face of the restaurant/hospitality industry statistically, but they have also changed the atmosphere of the restaurant environment and made it a kinder, gentler workplace. "I think it's a kinder world out there," says Julie Flik, executive vice president of FLIK International Corporation, an operating division of Compass Group USA, in Mamaroneck, New York. "I think women lend sensitivity to the business."

Whether it's elevating a kitchen's atmosphere, lending a helping hand, mediating a conflict or defusing a customer's displeasure, women have made an indelible mark on the restaurant/hospitality industry and have emerged as industry leaders. "Women have a lot of talents that work well within the restaurant industry," says Jackie Trujillo, chairman of Harman Management Corporation in Los Altos, California. Even so, she admits "it's taken awhile for people to really believe that women have the ability to run a business as well as a man does."

Linda Bacin, vice president of the Chicago-based Bacin Group Restaurants, agrees. "I think we have shed the prejudices that did indeed keep women down for many years," she says. "When I started in this business in 1982, there was an attitude of "This is a man's world, and we're going to run it. You can be a part of it, but you're not going to run it.' "

Bacin thinks that as it became clear that women possessed the skills and talents to succeed in the restaurant business that attitude began to change. "Women have proven that they're invaluable, and there is a much greater level of respect," says Bacin. "Women's roles have definitely changed — and definitely changed for the better. Women have emerged as being very, very good at their jobs and have earned the respect of their peers, and as a result, they've opened up a multitude of doors for young women."

More to balance

Women may have proven their abilities and demonstrated their talents in the restaurant/hospitality industry, but they still face unique challenges that can stymie their efforts to pry open even more doors. The most profound challenge facing many working women is the effort to balance work and family. The 1994 Working Women Count! survey by the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau revealed that the number-one issue concerning women is the difficulty of balancing work and family — a situation aggravated by the often long hours required in the restaurant/hospitality field.

There aren't any easy solutions for women who want successful marriages and well-adjusted children. "I don't know how women can combine family and hold a really high-profile position," says Mathers. "If I had had a family, I never would have been able to do what I've done. I think you have to make choices if you're going to succeed. You have to decide what you want out of life."

Valerie Ferguson, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, believes the decision to put family on hold can lead to an identity crisis. "We're expected to be mothers, at the same time we're expected to excel professionally, and more often than not, we have to be better than our male counterparts just to keep up," she says. "That leads to questions about who am I supposed to be? Am I supposed to have a fabulous social and personal life, or am I perceived as an old maid who works every day? Can I do both? Those are tremendous questions that there are no standard answers to. We don't even really talk about it. There are women who have support systems that enable them to succeed — both personally and professionally — but for many women, these support systems do not exist."

Ferguson acknowledges that this is not the sole obstacle facing women in the workplace; however, unlike issues of sexism or diversity — which are external struggles — the decision to balance career and family is an internal struggle. "It's about fighting yourself, and it's tough," she admits.

However, having children and a career does work for some women restaurant professionals. Five women on the board of directors — Elizabeth Burns, president of Robert Burns & Son, Inc., in Santa Monica, California; Florence Jaramillo, president of Manzana Center, Inc., and owner of Restaurante Rancho di Chimayo in Chimayo, New Mexico; Denise Fugo, president of Cleveland-based Sammy's; Flik; and Trujillo — have firsthand experience with the fancy footwork required to balance work and family.

Trujillo cared for her three children while working with the help of her mother and an aunt. "I had really good people who could help me take care of the children. I stayed close to our children and tried to support them in things that were important to them," she says. "There are women who want to make their marriages successful and make their kids turn out OK, and that's hard when you've got a top job. You really have to work hard on it."

Flik thinks juggling work and family is one of the biggest challenges women face, which makes her appreciate her situation all the more. "My husband and I share the value that it's important to have quality family time, plus we live very near our business, which enabled us to take off in the afternoon and see the kids' performances or soccer games or hockey games," she says.

But Flik realizes the way she lives her life isn't the answer for every woman. "There's no blueprint of an answer that's going to work for every woman," she says. "Every woman has to work it out for herself to determine what is going to allow her to achieve that balance."

For Fugo, setting ground rules allowed her to achieve that balance. Fugo, who has three daughters, took just 10 days off from work after their births. Her first daughter came to work with her, and although the company was much larger by the time her second daughter was born, Fugo did bring her to business meetings. Fugo's willingness and ability to integrate her family with her work — both of her older daughters help out with the catering business now — have allowed her to expand Sammy's and balance the demands of family and work.

"I got home at 10 o'clock last night. I was out of town for a meeting, and I met with a customer on the way back. My kids understand that customers have a priority in our lives, because they let us do the things we're able to do as a family," says Fugo. "There are nights and weekends in foodservice, but I've worked in other industries where you work nights and weekends, too. You have to figure out how to balance that."

A similar matter-of-fact approach helped Burns balance her family and job responsibilities. "You do your job to the best of your ability and hope you succeed," says Burns. "I think that's what you do with your children, too."

But not all working women have the benefit of family caregivers or have the flexibility to take their children to work — that's why some women restaurant and hospitality professionals advise companies that want to profit from keeping top women managers to modify their cultures to better accommodate women with families. A lack of adequate child care and family-related incentives may make restaurant/hospitality-industry careers less attractive to women. This is a significant loss to the hospitality work force when you consider that women account for 57 percent of individuals employed in foodservice occupations, according to the National Restaurant Association's 1994 Foodservice Employee Profile. Moreover, service jobs have the highest and fastest growing percentage of shift workers (42 percent), and many of those jobs are held by women, according to Women's Bureau research.

"We need to recognize that it's important to have affordable child care available for our middle managers and employees in the industry," says Ferguson. "These are issues the industry must begin to address to better retain women."

Is the glass ceiling shattered?

Some of the other challenges women in the industry face are more external: corporate glass ceilings and pay inequities. According to a 1995 report published by the Glass Ceiling Commission, the U.S. labor force remains gender- and race-segregated, with white men filling most top management positions in corporations. And although women hold 43 percent of the executive, administrative and managerial positions, they account for less than 3 to 5 percent of top executive positions.

Gretchen Mathers, who got her start in the industry working for General Foods and Westin Hotels and went into partnership with Schwartz Brothers Restaurants 10 years ago, believes a glass ceiling exists. "They say there is no glass ceiling, but it seems like you get to a certain level and that's as far as you get," she says. "There are lots of women working in large companies, but very few at the top." A fact that makes Mathers even more appreciative of her arrangement with Schwartz Brothers. "This is a good-sized corporation that employs lots of women — and on an executive committee of five, three of us are women."

Jackie Trujillo started as a carhop at the world's first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Salt Lake City and worked her way up to a leadership position. She is cautiously optimistic about women's progression up the corporate ladder. "You see more women in good jobs in human resources, advertising and marketing, and there are more women vice presidents," she says. "But I don't think we're seeing as many women executives on the board of directors or in chairman positions."

But this too will change, predicts Trujillo, as more women — who have paid their dues and proven themselves — are groomed for positions of top-level power. "Because women are in these positions now, they have opportunities to advance. And so when an opportunity comes up, they are going to be moved into that position," she says.

Denise Fugo, who has spent the last 17 years building her restaurant and catering business with her husband, Ralph DiOrio, scoffs at the notion of a glass ceiling. "Is there a glass ceiling? Don't worry about it," says Fugo. "There is a woman leading Churchs Chicken right now. Now there's a role model and all the young girls learning about her won't even think there is a glass ceiling, because this woman proved that at Churchs there wasn't one."

Even if a woman executive can shatter the glass ceiling, she must still tackle the issue of equal pay for equal work. In 1994, the Women's Bureau reported that women working full-time and year-round averaged 72 cents for each dollar that men earned. "Getting paid on the same scale as men is one of the challenges facing women," says Julie Flik, whose company manages 130 contract-foodservice accounts for private industry, and private schools and colleges. "It's getting better, but I think women have to demand it. They have to be firm about stating their expectations as far as wages go. For the most part, I would say women are less aggressive about demanding equal pay, but we're getting bolder."

Expert advice

These industry leaders agree that women who want a seat in the executive suite need mentors, both men and women, who can guide them over career hurdles. Most of the women on the board attribute their success to a mentor who challenged, motivated and inspired them.

For Van Eure, president of The Angus Barn Restaurant, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, it was her father, Thad Eure Jr., who showed her the ropes of the restaurant business and gave her the opportunity to hone her management skills.

"I would go to him and say, 'I don't like how this is working out. What do you think if we change it?' He would say, "Yeah, you're right.' He probably said that even when he didn't agree just to let me learn the hard way — just to be a good mentor."

"Pete Harman was my best mentor, because he was the one who always watched out for me and gave me opportunities," says Trujillo, referring to the founder of Harman Management Corporation. "He had more faith in me than I did."

"I wouldn't be here without a mentor," says Valerie Ferguson, who opted for a career in hospitality instead of law. "I had somebody who challenged me, watched out for me, and told me, "You've got to ask questions; you've got to ask for the job. No one is just going to walk up to you and offer you the opportunity.' "

That's a lesson Linda Bacin has learned well. "I'm not hesitant to reach out to someone who I know has knowledge that I want," she says. "There are a lot of individuals in the industry who will stop what they're doing to answer questions. Sometimes I do feel like the young kid on the block, but that's OK."

And as the young kid on the block, it's good to have friends. That's why all these women recommend networking for personal and professional development. "Women have to network," says Flik. "Women should get involved in business-related organizations and find mentors who they can bounce ideas off of." Fugo says she makes it a point not to join single-sex groups. "It's important to network with men, which is something a lot of women don't do," she says. "In most of the world, men still run everything, so you better know how to golf."

Female ingenuity

Many women aren't waiting for it to get better or for that mythical glass ceiling to come crashing down — they're going out on their own and doing it their own way. According to Mathers, some of Seattle's best restaurants are owned by women. "Sometimes you have to make your own opportunities," says Mathers, who did exactly that 18 years ago when she opened her cafeteria and catering operation in a 3,500-square-foot space.

But as Mathers can attest, it's far from smooth sailing once you're on your own. "It was tough to get financing," she says. Mathers refinanced her house and applied for a Small Business Administration loan to get the funds she needed to start her business. "I did not have enough capital. I had enough to build — but cash flow was tight, and it was pretty hand-to-mouth for quite a while."

Mathers' situation was unique in that she had a house she could refinance. Women who are starting businesses often lack the assets banks require to obtain financing, so they look for alternative sources of financing for their businesses. Twenty percent of women business owners secured a business or commercial loan in 1996, according to "Capital, Credit and Financing," a study conducted by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners in Silver Spring, Maryland. Five percent obtained a personal bank loan. Twenty-one percent of women-owned firms were financed by friends, family and personal savings.

Florence Jaramillo fell into that 21 percent more than 30 years ago, when she and her husband, Arturo, were trying to open their restaurant in New Mexico. "We had a really hard time raising capital. We used all our savings to get started," says Jaramillo, who at times worked three jobs to support her husband and herself while they got the restaurant up and running. "We were finally able to get a small-business loan, and that really helped. That really gave us some breathing room."

Reaching a higher rung on the ladder

Whether they climbed their way up the corporate career ladder, inherited the family-owned operation or cooked up their own business from scratch, these women restaurant professionals insist that there are good opportunities for women in the restaurant/hospitality industry. "I think there is a very bright future for women in this industry," says Mathers. "After all, we dominate the industry in terms of numbers."

But, these women caution, sheer numbers alone won't get women into the executive suite. They stress that women who want to make it in this business must know the industry, understand the numbers, have self-confidence and have enough pluck to grab a chance to succeed when it comes their way. As Fugo says, "You have to tell people that you want that opportunity."

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Jenny Hedden is a senior staff writer at the National Restaurant Association.