2013 was a year chockfull of firsts for females:
Janet Yellen became the first woman chair of the Federal Reserve in its 100-year history. Michelle Howard was confirmed as the Navy’s first female admiral, the highest rank of any woman serving since its creation
238 years ago. Inga Beale was appointed CEO at Lloyd’s of London, a first in
its 325 years of operation.
These professional advancements would’ve been shocking
merely decades ago – but not quite as shocking as the one place where woman today
are struggling to gain positions of leadership: the kitchen.
As 2013 came to a close, TIME Magazine published a list of the
year’s “Gods of Food.” 13 divine beings of the culinary realm were chosen, but
not a single female chef was featured.
The appalling lack of women on this list and accompanying
“chef family tree” (a info-graphic of influential figures) was underscored by
an interview featured on Eater National with Time section editor Howard
Chua-Eoan.
Why are there no
female chefs on the chef family tree?
Well I think it
reflects one very harsh reality of the current chefs' world, which
unfortunately has been true for years: it's still a boys club. There are of
course very good and terrific female chefs: Carme Ruscalleda, Elena Arzak,
April [Bloomfield] of course, Anita Lo of course, and of course Alice [Waters].
But it's very strange, the network of women, as Anita herself has been saying
for so many years now, isn't as strong as the network of men.
And when you look at
this chart it's very clear. It's all men because men still take care of
themselves. The women really need someone — if not men, themselves actually —
to sort of take care of each other. The thing about the women I named, they are
all spectacularly good chefs. But they also had to force their way to where
they are now, they are almost their own creations. It's unfortunate, the women
who are there are very good, but very few of them actually benefitted from the
boys club, as you can see from the chart.
Contrary to Chua-Eoan’s opinion and the sparse coverage of
female chefs in the media, women are working up the ranks in the world of
cuisine. The percentage of female graduates at the Culinary Institute of
America is up to 36% in 2012 from 21% a decade before. In restaurant kitchens,
men still outnumber the women, but more females are moving into leadership
roles – the restaurant Marea, in New York, recently promoted Lauren DeSteno to chef de cuisine,
a position in which she presides over 4 male sous-chefs and 20 other cooks.
DeSteno serves as a role model for young women aspiring to
don the pleated white cap and disproves Chua-Eoan’s belief that a woman needs to be
taken care of. A word of advice to young female chefs: keep forcing your way through
that kitchen door and don’t be afraid to wield some sharp knives.
This was really interesting, and a point that I had not really thought of before. As women rise in technology and knowledge based career fields, they are stuck behind in some service industry jobs. In my mind, this could possibly be a good thing-women are advancing to higher up positions of power. Service industry jobs are not as prestigious as information and technology based jobs that many women are now holding. Nonetheless, the fact still remains that women are still struggling to catch up to their male counterparts. I truly wonder why-especially in the kitchen. Is it merely a question of numbers? Are fewer women actually interested in this career? I wouldn't think so...Is the typical workplace prejudice against female chefs that exists in many workplaces due to the worry that she'll leave to take care of her family? Perhaps women haven't started as serious a takeover in this field as they have in others. Either way, this little known fact to me prompts a lot of questions about WHY the place a woman used to be found all day is now a "boys club." At least the ladies are somewhat on the rise. Not sure how, or even if they want to take back the kitchen, but I'm interested to see how this unfolds.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Alexa: I think I can answer a few of your questions according to some of the research that I found, but didn't include in my post. It's not necessarily that fewer women are interested in the career, so much as that they aren't interested in the hours that must be put in in order to make a name for themselves. (The number cited in the NY Times article I link to put the workload for a chef at about 80 hours a week.) It comes back to the ultimate issue for any woman who's unsure about pursing a longterm, strenuous career - does choosing this career mean she's choosing not to pursue motherhood? Getting maternity leave as a chef is hard enough, but for women hoping to start their own restaurant, leaving the kitchen means leaving your vision in the hands of others.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, the kitchen developed as boy's club in response to the stereotype that women are weaker- from carrying heavy pots of stew to handling the stress and profanity that characterizes the hectic atmosphere in the kitchen, it was (and probably still is by some) believed that men are better equipped.
The advancements of women in other fields, such as technology and finance, are something to be proud of and I'm not saying women need to rush to reclaim their space in the kitchen. However, I think it is extremely important that the women who are making changes in the food industry receive the recognition they deserve.