Women’s Hospitality Initiative: Featured Articles

This article is a review paper, which examines the place of gender in hospitality research and education and discusses the significance of hospitality for women's employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. The paper’s main purpose, however, is to speculate on the future of hospitality gender research and women’s employment prospects in the industry. It suggests that, despite the emergence of gender perspectives in hospitality research and the recent rise of popular feminism in response to high-profile sexual harassment cases and a well-publicised gender pay gap, gender still does not occupy mainstream territory in the field. The paper stresses the continued missed opportunities of neglecting female talent and calls on female and male leaders to shape a gender-just future in hospitality study and practice by mentoring and holding hierarchies to account. The paper identifies AI and robotics and sexual exploitation and harassment as two areas in which hospitality gender scholars could lead scholarship and policy debates on gendered human experiences.

Listening to the needs of women leaders and building tools that support them are essential to closing the gender gap in business, according to Therese Gear-hart of the Women's Foodservice Forum. Nation's Restaurant News recently spoke with Gear-hart about the state of gender parity in the industry and her vision for the WFF.

The article presents a study that assesses the factors affecting the career advancement of women in the hospitality industry in the U.S. It notes that seven factors were extracted based on an online survey including family issues, lack of support and equity. The results have indicated the importance of hospitality education programs to prepare women for leadership roles in the hospitality industry.

Despite the increasing presence of women in the hospitality labour market, empirical evidence shows persistent horizontal and vertical segregation, as well as a pay gap - a situation that perpetuates lost opportunities for the industry. Based on Barbara Risman’s model “Gender as a Social Structure” as a leading reference, the paper provides a gender based approach for the hospitality industry. Risman’s three levels of analysis (Individual, Interactional and Institutional) are completed with an Intersectional level, conforming the “Gender as a Social Structure in the Hospitality Industry” model. This model aims at identifying factors that cause discrimination among female executives. The methodology is based on thirty semi-structured in-depth interviews with female executives in the Spanish hospitality industry. The results show that the influence of self-imposed barriers, gender roles, problems associated with work-life conciliation and issues related to gendered organizations are the main factors that hinder achieving gender equality.

The hospitality industry struggles with problems with staff motivation, commitment and retention, whilst also having an entrenched glass ceiling that limits career opportunities for many women. Mentoring is a useful function to support and develop staff, and may be particularly important for helping women overcome gendered barriers to progression. This paper reports on a year-long qualitative study of a women’s mentoring programme in the hospitality industry in the UK. Drawing on data from 71 interviews with a sample of 13 mentors and 14 mentees, the findings illustrate the persistent gendered obstacles women experience as they try and negotiate careers in masculinist hospitality organisations. The mentoring programme offers individual support for the mentees, and also begins to challenge gendered discourses of success in hospitality careers, illustrating that mentoring has an important role to play in both career development and in confronting gender inequality in the hospitality industry.

The article offers information on the journal's first Women In Hospitality Roundtable event which took place in the year 2017. Andrea Foster, senior vice president of development at Marcus Hotels & Resorts, said that her company has two women as members of its board of directors. Cindy Estis Green, chief executive of Kalibri Labs, said that she was lucky to have men as mentors.

The article focuses on the Hotel Management's Women in Hospitality Roundtable, which was sponsored by "The Wall Street Journal" and held in November 2018 at the Westin New York at Times Square. The event has gathered a number of industry leaders and women executive who discussed and addressed issues about leadership and cooperation in the sector.

This feminist discourse analysis looks to uncover the characteristic features that make the restaurant industry both more dangerous through its broader organizational culture and its propensity for having the most vulnerable populations working for them. By looking at media coverage and academic literature surrounding the #MeToo movement in the restaurant industry, this article evaluates what efforts have been made to reform the toxic cultural norms underlying kitchen organizations as well as to what degree they have been successful.

A roundtable to explore best practices driving women within the hospitality industry to senior leadership positions centered on the topic of empowering women through education. They explored how to encourage women to take up positions in fields where they lack representation, such as in the culinary arts. The roundtable was attended by ten experts in the areas of education and hospitality and revolved around several questions developed in line with the UN's Women Empowerment Principles

The article investigates the few number of female executives at publicly traded restaurant companies in the U.S. According to Carin Strutz, chief operating officer (COO) of food chain Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, women has the ability to offer flexibility, training and development as well as career opportunities. Also emphasized are the progress and challenges of women in the restaurant business industry.

The higher the status in the “haute cuisine” field, the fewer women are employed in prestigious positions. Although cooking is considered a feminine competence, it becomes masculine when it is considered a professional job. Therefore, there are recognized gender barriers for women to achieve chef positions in the field. This article discusses the case of six female chefs who were awarded three Michelin stars in 2014 and one with two stars. The goal was to research how these women met the criteria of theMichelin Guideand which were the specific aspects that distinguished them from the rest. Although in their discourse, gender barriers were not highly accentuated, however, passion, the feminine approach to management, and family support were considered mandatory for their success.

Haute cuisine has become an essential activity within the hospitality industry, and gastronomy plays a vital role in tourism economics, receiving significant attention from the media each day. Thus, women’s access to the culinary profession and their barriers to progress in the field to chef status have been profusely studied within the academic literature and covered by global media. This article will analyze and compare how academia and media have dealt with the issue of gender discrimination in haute cuisine, whether their conclusions are similar, and what they outline; it is a relevant contribution with an original literature analysis on gender and haute cuisine.

The article offers informatio on the condition of women in the foodservice industry in the U.S. It discusses a 2017 report from McKinsey & Co. about women who were underrepresented in all levels in the industry despite the growing number of them who were entering the U.S. workforce. It mentions the importance of gender diversity in management to promote higher financial results and better organizational effectiveness.

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore what organizations can do to facilitate the retention and advancement of women professionals into top leadership positions. A social exchange framework is applied to examine ways organizations can signal support for and investment in the careers of women professionals, and ultimately the long-term work relationship.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper employed a qualitative methodology; specifically, semi-structured interviews with 20 women executives, in primarily the US hospitality industry, were conducted. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed.

Findings
– Organizations are likely to strengthen the retention of their female professionals if they signal support through purposeful, long-term career development that provides a sightline to the top, and ultimately creates more female role models in senior-level positions. Organizations can also signal support through offering autonomy over how work is completed, and designing infrastructures of support to sustain professionals during mid-career stages. Findings are used to present a work-exchange model of career development.

Research limitations/implications
– This research is an exploratory study that is limited in its scope and generalizability.

Practical implications
– The proposed work-exchange model can be used to comprehensively structures initiatives that would signal organizational support to – and long-term investment in – female professionals and enable them to develop their career paths within their organizations.

Originality/value
– Through offering a work-exchange model of career development, this paper identifies components of organizational support from a careers perspective, and highlights the factors that could potentially contribute to long-term growth and retention of women professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to address the paradox that represents a shortage of women in management and senior leadership positions around the world, while research has consistently shown that having women in positions of influence leads to noteworthy organizational benefits, as guest editors for this special issue, the authors provide an overview of four key streams of cross-cultural research on gender – women in international management, anthropology and gender, women’s leadership, and women’s entrepreneurship – which have been fairly well-developed but remain underexplored. Each author led the review of the scholarly literature stream that aligned most with personal research areas of expertise, while particularly focusing each literature review on the status of each body of work in relation to the topic of women and gender in international business and management. The authors encourage future work on the role of women and gender (including gay, lesbian, and transgender) in cross-cultural management, and the influence of cross-cultural matters on gender. In addition to new research on obstacles and biases faced by women in management, the authors hope to see more scholarship on the benefits that women bring to their organizations. New research could aim to provide specific evidence-based recommendations for: how organizations and individuals can work to develop more gender diversity in management and senior positions around the world, and encourage more women to start and grow bigger businesses. Scholars can lead progress on important gender issues and contribute to quality information that guides politicians, organizational leaders, new entrants to the workforce. This is the first paper to cover these topics and review the body of work on cross-cultural research on women in international business and management. The authors hope it serves as a useful launch pad for scholars conducting new research in this domain.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the underlying organisational features, according to the gendered organisation theory, that have contributed to high levels of representation of women executives, contrary to the trend in the South African financial services industry.Design/methodology/approachA critical realist approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews, based on a theoretical framework of the gendered organisation. Data were aligned to the theoretical levels of critical realism.FindingsThe research found that the pool from which the successful candidates were appointed was influenced by two features. The first was the perceived attractiveness of the organisation as an employer, composed of organisational prestige, opportunity for altruism, and the sex of the CEO. The second was the role of the CEO as gatekeeper, most notably the CEO’s network and the impact of the similar-to-me paradigm during selection.Originality/valueThe utilisation of critical realism as an approach allowed for organisational features embedded in the theory of the gendered organisation to be identified and gives an indication of how the number of women at executive management level may be increased. The salient factors are the role the woman CEO played in the inclusion of more women at the executive level by virtue of her being a woman, and the attractiveness of the organisation to women employees. Organisational features identified were gendered towards the feminine.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the findings from empirical research conducted with women managers about their careers and to propose a template or blueprint for how individuals and organisations might create a better career environment for women.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on a research study that included interviews with 20 senior women managers from a range of sectors and countries and a self-completion survey questionnaire completed by 1,402 women.FindingsThe paper illustrates the difficulties that women continue to face in the workplace and how terms such as leadership, management and team leader may be gender biased. There is a need for employers and for individuals to consider a variety of different approaches to help create a more positive career environment for women.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings have implications for career development structures and talent management processes within organisations. They also would be useful for professional associations.Practical implicationsThe template proposed offers a useful guide to help organisations reflect on possible gender bias in career development structures.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the understanding of the issues that women managers face and highlight the practical changes employers could make to help address these issues.

Because women's status in Latin American countries appears comparable to their status in organizations of more economically advanced nations, this paper probes the mystery of how and why these women fare relatively well in their careers, given that socioeconomic and cultural factors could limit their possibilities of achieving higher management positions. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory study of 162 Latin American women who demonstrated exceptional success by attaining first and second level positions in private organizations. They responded to a semi-structured interview of 49 closed-ended questions about career challenges and barriers, leadership style, ambition, personal goals and work-life balance, plus two open-ended questions about men and women's leadership differences and how they understand their success. Findings – Interviewees disagreed on issues of discrimination, recognized few serious professional career barriers and regarded work-life balance as their main challenge. They understood their success in terms of individual factors such as personality characteristics, performance and results, and their own leadership traits. Most admitted that machismo limits women's access to upper level positions. They recognized their ambition to attain power positions mainly for personal satisfaction, and their main goal was personal development and fulfilment. Research limitations/implications – Given the sample size per country, future research could include a more representative and large sample or concentrate on one country per region to establish relationships between women's personal characteristics and organizations' sector, or challenges faced and leadership style. Also family-owned companies as well as women entrepreneurs could contribute knowledge about women's leadership in these countries. Studying only national companies, a more neatly description of local culture and gender awareness in its organizational practices that hinder or promote women's leadership and participation in decision-making positions may be obtained. Transcultural studies that compare women's rise and upper management performance in countries where support from domestic help and extended family as well as cultural values are very different, could permit to understand more fully what it takes to reach top management positions and the weight that these particular cultural conditions have. Originality/value – This study is unique in shedding light on a multinational sample of Latin American female executives and their perceptions of their success, leadership style and barriers and challenges faced.

This article and subsequent exploratory study are designed to explore what barriers, perceived or real, prevent African American women from ascending to the C-suite within organizations. In addition, this study strives to provide tools that can be used to help in their ascension. As of March 2015, there were only four African American Chief Executive Officers in Fortune 500 companies according to a report by Berman (2015). Prior to this, there were five at the highest echelon of corporate America: Kenneth Chenault of American Express, Rodney O'Neal of Delphi, Kenneth Frazier of Merck, Arnold W. Donald of Carnival and finally, one single African American woman, Ursula Burns at Xerox.1As proud as one can be of Ms. Burns and all of her accomplishments and successes, one must wonder is she the only African American women capable of leading a top organization in America? There is no doubt that she is capable, smart and worthy. What makes her attractive to the decision-makers? How did she overcome barriers that seemingly hold others back as they try to ascend to that level? It is our hope to identify those barriers, to a limited extent, and to provide insights from those who have made it as well as tools that can assist others. It may be obvious to some that barriers exist for this group of people, but not so obvious to others. Cain (2015) in her study of this same group, addressed barriers encountered by African American women executives in U.S. corporations. Studies, reports and literature outline some of the barriers for African American women as being social, economic and interpersonal. These barriers easily stop African American women from reaching the higher levels in organizations. Although in 2014, women in general made up less than 16% of executive leaders in U.S. corporations; only 5.3% of executive leaders in U.S. corporations were African American women. Clearly for women of color, the gap is wider according to Walker (2014). Obviously, women of color encompasses women of various races. Women of color make up 11.9% of managerial and professional positions, but African American women make up the a mere 5.3%. Women outnumber men on college campuses and have earned a third of law degrees since 1980; a third of them have entered medical school since 1990 and since 2002, they have outnumbered men in earning undergraduate business degrees (Walker, 2014). With these glaring numbers, one is forced to ask the questions: What are the barriers preventing this segment of the female population from advancing to the C-suite? What tools do they need to advance? According to Purdie-Vaughs (2015) CEOs, diversity officers and programs that nurture talent are a start. This study hopes to clear the way and provide concrete solutions for African American women seeking those higher levels of power and responsibility.

This study established the relationship between transformational leadership and social responsibility practices in women’s organizations that produce special coffees in southern Colombia. To measure these variables using Likert scales, two questionnaires were applied: the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X short version (MLQ-5X) to measure transformational leadership, and a tool developed by the researchers to measure social responsibility. Cronbach’s Alpha (α) values for the two variables showed excellent consistency (α = 0.95 and 0.90 for transformational leadership and social responsibility, respectively). For the analysis of the information, the structural equation model was used to validate the hypothesis using the SPSS AMOS software. The results indicate a significant and positive correlation between the transformational leadership practices and the perception of social responsibility, especially in the dimensions of idealized influence (behavior and attributed) and intellectual stimulation of transformational leadership, and in the dimensions of labor issues and social responsibility. These findings are consistent with existing literature, and complement aspects not addressed before (e.g. correlation between transformational leadership and social responsibility practices in women’s organizations) in the framework of gender in non-conventional organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to propose mindfulness (e.g. practices such as yoga, meditation) as a fruitful addition to women leader/ship development research and practice, specifically as a means through which to prevent and mitigate negative health outcomes.This is a literature review-based paper that integrates scholarly research on gender and women’s leadership, well-being (including stress reduction), women leader/ship development and mindfulness. Women continue to be under-represented in senior leadership roles and many confront a “labyrinth” of “gender-organization-system” challenges throughout their careers. These challenges can have material effects on the well-being of women leaders. Research reveals positive psychological and biological effects of mindfulness practices on well-being (including stress). Some of this research reveals that women are more likely to engage in mindfulness practices and experience greater benefits. Leader/ship development programs designed specifically for women are needed, and it is proposed that incorporating mindfulness into these programs may result in beneficial outcomes for women leaders.

Female leaders continue to face bias in the workplace compared to male leaders. When employees are evaluated differently because of who they are rather than how they perform, an ethical dilemma arises for leaders and organizations. Thus, bridging role congruity and social identity leadership theories, we propose that gender biases in leadership evaluations can be overcome by manipulating diversity at the team level. Across two multiple-source, multiple-wave, and randomized field experiments, we test whether team gender composition restores gender equity in leadership evaluations. In Study 1, we find that male leaders are rated as more prototypical in male-dominated groups, an advantage that is eliminated in gender-balanced groups. In Study 2, we replicate and extend this finding by showing that leader gender and team gender composition interact to predict trust in the leader via perceptions of leader prototypicality. The results show causal support for the social identity model of organizational leadership and a boundary condition of role congruity theory. Beyond moral arguments of fairness, our findings also show how, in the case of gender, team diversity can create a more level playing field for leaders. Finally, we outline the implications of our results for leaders, organizations, business ethics, and society.

The purpose of this paper is to review the emerging literature on formal women-only business networks and outline propositions to develop this under-theorised area of knowledge and stimulate future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the existing literature on formal internal and external women-only networks and use the broader social capital and network literature to frame their arguments and develop propositions. Findings Propositions are developed regarding how both internal and external formal women-only business networks can be of value for members, firms/organisations and the wider social group of women in business. Research limitations/implications The authors focus on the distinction between external and internal formal women-only networks while also acknowledging the broader diversity that can characterise such networks. Their review provides the reader with an insight into the state of the art and a set of propositions that present opportunities for future research. Practical implications The paper provides insights into how women in business, organisations and wider society can leverage value from both internal and external formal women-only business networks. Social implications The paper contributes to research showing that the social structure of interactions and context can impact women's standing in the workplace. Originality/value The paper sheds light on the under-studied and under-theorised phenomenon of formal women-only business networks. Beyond the individual member level, the authors suggest that such networks can be of value for organisations and the wider social group of women in management and leadership positions.

The paradox of Indian women's declining presence in the labor market despite their advancements in higher education leads to questions regarding how this "leaky pipeline" can be patched and (partly) prevented. At the same time, female educational advancement in Western countries, such as Germany, does not equate to significantly more females in leadership positions or changes in gender role expectations. In both the Indian and German contextual setting, women face hurdles in developing their career and the risk of lifelong dependency or poverty. This paper clarifies the perspectives of young females on leadership careers and success before they enter the labor market and uses the results from career research to show "blind spots" that might lead to hurdles for their future careers. The second contribution of the paper is envisioning future teaching that (1) prevents females from making decisions that might lead to dependency and poverty while fulfilling organizational and societal gender role expectations and (2) fosters organizational changes that facilitates female careers. The Paper also reflects on the learning stages necessary for transforming theoretical knowledge into practical solutions and promoting more equal opportunities in the labor market.

This study investigates the effect of country-level emancipative forces on corporate gender diversity around the world. Based on Welzel’s (Freedom rising: human empowerment and the quest for emancipation. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2013) theory of emancipation, we develop an emancipatory framework of board gender diversity that explains how action resources, emancipative values and civic entitlements enable, motivate and encourage women to take leadership roles on corporate boards. Using a sample of 6390 firms operating in 30 countries around the world, our results show positive single and combined effects of the framework components on board gender diversity. Our research adds to the existing literature in a twofold manner. First, our integrated framework offers a more encompassing, complete and theoretically richer picture of the key drivers of board gender diversity. Second, by testing the framework empirically, we extend the evidence on national drivers of board gender diversity.

Although evidence on the relationship between gender diversity on boards and financial performance is mixed, studies suggest that gender diversity can play an important role in supporting innovative activity and organizational change. For example, companies with greater gender diversity are associated with higher R&D intensity, obtain more patents, and report higher levels of overall innovation. This pattern is also reflected in external accolades; companies recognized as innovators have more women directors. Here, Cheng and Groysberg offer a variety of suggestions for addressing the gender imbalance on corporate boards.

Through an analysis of 15 Latin American countries, the purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of several institutional variables (economic, regulatory, and cultural), which affect women’s careers towards being members of boards of directors in the region.

Women’s predominant role in agritourism expands their also significant involvement in agriculture and rural development. Yet, when measured in economic terms, women in agritourism appear to be less successful than men. We argue that economic earnings are a limited measure of success, as women value their accomplishments in a comprehensive and distinctive sense. To better understand women’s success in agritourism, we conducted a study addressing limitations in methodologies and scope of the existing scholarship. Framed within feminist and emic approaches, we used a combination of qualitative methods of inquiry (open-ended interviews, mini focus groups, nominal group exercises) to generate data from 20 female agritourism entrepreneurs in North Carolina (USA). Findings show women in agritourism define success through nine distinct themes, four of which are newly emerging (ensuring customer satisfaction, being constantly on the move, pursuing happiness, perpetuating the family farm). Participants also identified seven opportunities that they perceive contribute to their self-defined success. Our study adds to the scholarship and practice of gender in agritourism by expanding the economic definition of entrepreneurial success. In doing so, we provide managerial and policy intelligence that can be used to stimulate rural development.

Entrepreneurial education includes the study of desired skills, knowledge and competencies necessary at various stages of the entrepreneurial continuum as well as effective pedagogies to address varying learning styles and modes of delivery. Women entrepreneurs commonly lack key business skills and competencies their male counterparts developed from professional experiences in corporate environments. This skillset includes negotiation efficacy, a competence that may be pivotal to launching and sustaining a new venture. During the launch period, venture financing, recruitment of management teams, and acquisition of resources require astute negotiation skills to establish a business. Entrepreneurs who are unable to secure the needed resources may never be able to move their venture beyond the conceptual stage. Studies show that women face greater challenges than men in securing venture financing and human capital resources. Therefore, greater negotiation efficacy could prove useful for women entrepreneurs during this resource building process. This study will explore how women entrepreneurs can develop increased levels of negotiation self-efficacy to maximize outcomes as they establish their businesses.