How is the proportion of women in the hospitality industry? What are the areas where they perform better? What are the prejudices they face and what are their biggest challenges? We spoke to 3 inspiring female owners of 3 catering establishments and Tibor Zmák, head of practical training at the Giorgio Perlasca Catering Technique.
Hospitality is undoubtedly a tough profession, whatever the area. Shifts rarely end after 8 hours, they are a constant challenge of standing up, physical stamina and mental toughness, precision and of course endless patience with the diverse needs of the customers. We wondered how the situation of women in the sector has evolved and what they themselves think.
According to Tibor Zmák, the gender ratio is over-represented in all fields to varying degrees, with the biggest difference being in the technical and pastry-making fields.
„In all classes, there are more girls than boys. If I were to rank the different courses, the female dominance in adult education would be as follows: pastry chefs, technicians (the latter is a specialised course that gives both a vocational qualification and a diploma), waiters, cooks, catering managers, bartenderek. I see similar rates in the labour market. And I am particularly pleased that many girls of Roma origin are being educated in our schools. They are hard-working, motivated and, not least, very good in the kitchen.”
But for obvious reasons, the drop-out rate is also skewed towards women. Even though the start of family formation has been delayed, this understandably presents women with a choice. And, again for obvious reasons, returning is almost impossible, even though the solution is obvious.
„There is no doubt that the number of restaurants where women are able to combine work and family life is negligible. If there were more 4 or 6-hour jobs, it would help mothers with children to stay in the profession.” - says Tibor.
Three women, three stories
But despite this, there are more and more women not only in staff but also in management positions. This is likely to be linked to the fact that women have been shown to perform better in areas where sharing attention is essential, and to be more effective in time management.
A perfect example of this are the three fantastic women in our video who own three successful - and very different - restaurants. A Winking Bistro headed by Edina Gogolák, the highly acclaimed Cake to Go Budapest founder, Adrienn Sabján and the Sent by my mum the heart and soul of the delicat shop, Kornelia Bánhidy, about their everyday life, the difficulties and their successes:
