The hospitality industry, known for its dynamic and diverse nature, plays host to a myriad of talents, each contributing to the vibrant tapestry of experiences offered to guests worldwide. It can be an exciting, fast-paced industry to work in, with a huge amount of opportunities. Working with some of the best hospitality brands around, we love the industry dearly.

However, despite progress, it’s impossible to ignore that gender disparities still exist, and women in hospitality encounter unique hurdles. Ranging from gender biases to work-life balance struggles, the issues faced by women in all areas of their lives are often reflected in their work in this industry. 

Let’s take a look at some of these challenges, and highlight the incredible work hospitality brands are doing to make progress and support their female staff. 

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Gender Bias and Stereotypes

Women in hospitality are often contending with deeply ingrained gender biases and stereotypes. Whether it’s assumptions about what roles would suit them, or preconceived notions about leadership capabilities, these biases can impact career advancement, confidence levels, and perpetuate inequality. Tackling these stereotypes and making a collective effort to challenge these norms in hospitality workplaces would allow female staff to feel more self-assured, progress further in their careers, and lead to an even more skilled, confident workforce. 

An example of someone challenging gender stereotypes is Melissa, the founder and operator of Spinach.

Born with a natural love for the industry, she developed an  interest in entrepreneurship in 2015, founding Spinach East Dulwich and Spinach Catering. Entrepreneurship may be thought of by some as a stereotypically masculine career path, but her passion for hospitality and sustainability fuelled her to smash gender biases and become an inspiration to her team. For her, it’s all about the people - valuing relationships and the human side of hospitality and running a business. With a rollercoaster of experiences, Melissa embodies the spirit of a modern entrepreneur, leaving her mark on the brilliant world of hospitality, tackling gender biases and stereotypes along the way. 

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Another key element in tackling these issues in the industry is by having open, honest and inclusive conversations. For example, one of Greene King’s Employee-Led-Inclusion-Groups (ELIG) is Greene Sky, focusing on supporting women in the organisation. The group is made up of like-minded individuals across the business who actively influence and inform the Senior Leadership Team on key topics such as menopause education, celebrating women, progressing careers, and combating sexism. 

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Equal Opportunities 

We can all agree that there’s an abundance of talented women in the hospitality industry. But, unfortunately, there aren't always equal opportunities with their male counterparts. From recruitment to promotions, women may encounter systemic barriers that limit their access to leadership roles. Tackling this issue means hospitality brands need to implement fair and transparent practices in their recruitment and HR processes, as well as actively creating opportunities for those who may have missed out due to inequality in the past. 

An incredible example of a brand going above and beyond to ensure there are equal opportunities for women in hospitality is KERB. 

KERB is a hospitality organisation which was founded in 2012, focused on delivering impact, opportunity and joy through great food. Their not-for-profit social enterprise, KERB+ looks after their membership of over 140 independent food businesses. 

At the end of 2023, they conducted a membership census, which found that only 32% of their 140 strong membership pool were solely women-owned. This is in line with UK-wide stats, that suggest only 1 in 3 entrepreneurs are women. As 2024 began, KERB+ were looking to address this gender imbalance and increase the diversity of London’s food scene. 

In January 2024, KERB+ welcomed seven incredible women-owned businesses onto their inKERBator, a one-of-a-kind programme built for early-stage food businesses. The programme involved three weeks in the classroom at KERB HQ, before a six-week residency at a KERB market getting stuck into market trading. The programme is free and runs four cohorts a year, and the seven wonderful new inKERBator businesses graduated just a few days before International Women’s Day. 

This inKERBator line-up ranges from a mother and daughter duo serving food influenced by their Japanese/Jamaican heritage, to a lawyer serving up authentic Italian food. This programme is an incredible example of making an extra effort to level the playing field in the industry and provide women with the right opportunities.   

Street food is for everyone, and gender shouldn’t be a barrier. KERB+ is breaking down the street food gender gap with the first-ever women-owned inKERBator, representing the incredible talent across London.

– Claudia Bovey, Senior Markets Manager for KERB+

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‍Work-Life Balance

The demanding nature of the hospitality industry, with irregular hours, high-stress environments, and intense work schedules, can pose significant challenges for anyone seeking a healthy work-life balance - let’s face it, who isn’t?! Balancing professional responsibilities with personal and family commitments can be particularly daunting, which in bad cases can lead to burnout and impact long-term career sustainability.

Pizza Pilgrims are not only one of our lovely customers, but they’re also an admirable example of making their brand accessible for all, including considering the negative impact having children can have on your career development and opportunities if not supported. Not only have they launched an industry leading maternity package, they also offer flexible returns to work and reduced hours for parents and carers who handle the school run. They recognise that whilst good maternity pay is incredibly important, so is the support parents receive when they enter back into the workplace. 

Greene King’s maternity policy entitles salaried team members to 26 weeks full pay, plus 13 weeks statutory maternity pay. This policy came into play in 2022, after listening groups with team members were conducted across all parts of the business. Alongside the policy is a package of wrap around support, to ensure team members are supported before they go on maternity leave as well as helping make the transition back into work easier for mums returning after having a child.

In 2023, Greene King also launched their Menopause and Menstruation Support Policy, creating an environment focused on understanding menopause, perimenopause and periods, recognising the symptoms and signposting sources of help and support. 

Representation in leadership roles

One of the biggest issues in the hospitality industry is the under representation of women in leadership positions. Despite 56% of all hospitality workers being women, they are disproportionately more likely to occupy the most junior roles in the kitchen (39%) than be a chef (17%), and they make up less than 40% of restaurant managers. There’s clearly a barrier to taking that step up, whether it’s an industry related one or a personal one. Despite their qualifications, experience and capabilities, women often find themselves excluded from decision-making processes. 

Encouraging mentorship programs, leadership development initiatives, and fostering a culture of inclusivity is essential in addressing this imbalance.

This is another issue Pizza Pilgrims are tackling head on, with 70% of their leadership team and 65% of their pizzeria AGMs and supervisors being female. Despite this, they know there’s room to improve, with 21 of their 24 general managers being male. 

With this in mind, they hold a monthly breakfast for all their young, female managers and rising stars. They discuss the challenges they’re facing, share tips on how to navigate difficult situations and generally, just offer support and a network to support them in their journeys. This is led by their amazing Managing Partner, Alison Miller.

Led by their ELIG Greene Sky, Greene King are also working towards greater inclusion and diversity in his area, aiming for a 50% gender balance in senior roles by 2030. 

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Wage Disparities 

Wage disparities persist across industries, and the hospitality sector is no exception. Although the gender pay gap may be better than in other industries - sitting at an average of 7% - women in hospitality may find themselves earning less than their male counterparts for similar roles, perpetuating economic inequality. 

For example, women are still earning on average 21% less an hour in the hospitality industry. The greatest contrast in earnings is between men and women working as cooks, with men earning on average £4,358 more per annum.

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It’s likely that these statistics highlight the impact of the issues we’ve discussed. Women working in hospitality are not going for higher paid leadership positions as often, they’re more likely to take time off for their family or take a lower paid position to get more flexibility with their hours, and be subject to unequal opportunities. With this in mind, it’s important for brands to make a commitment to equal pay and salary transparency, as well as to the other schemes and efforts previously mentioned to support the possible causes of these wage disparities. 

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Listen, Understand, Act

It’s clear that, although significant progress has been made in recent years, there’s still a way to go for women in hospitality. With an industry as dynamic, fast-paced and human-centric as this, there is so much hope and opportunity for female-identifying people. 

But, it’s also clear that this starts with listening. It starts with brands making a conscious effort to hear the voices of their women employees, and take action by putting in place the right schemes, initiatives, and support to help them thrive. 

Here are a few of hospitality recruiter hosco’s steps for supporting and accommodating women in the industry:

Provide mentorship to aspiring women leaders

Like KERB’s incredible inKERBator scheme, or Pizza Pilgrim’s women leaders breakfasts, it’s a great idea to consider running mentorship programs for the aspirational women in your company. As mentorship takes root and more women rise to the top, there is likely to be a ripple effect on women even at lower levels. 

Promote from within

When there are open leadership positions within the organisation, think internally first. Assess the capacity of women already working with you in terms of their work experience, leadership skills, and dependability. 

Provide female-friendly benefits

As we’ve noted, women in hospitality who shoulder family responsibilities may shy away from taking higher leadership roles. You can support women by creating bespoke, female-friendly benefits. These include extended parental leave, equal pay, menstrual and menopausal support.

This industry relies on its female staff, and there is some incredible work being done already. We’re so excited to see the progression continue. 

Happy International Women’s Day from Startle.