Fast Casual Executive Summit
Fast casual leaders talk gender inclusivity, how females can advance
There are more women than ever working in the fast casual industry, but it's still quite far from being a 50-50 gender split. Three female leaders share insight, tips and guidance for women striving to advance up the fast casual ranks.
November 6, 2020 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
Despite the fact that more women are joining and working in the fast casual dining industry, there is still a long road ahead on achieving a 50-50 split among the male-female gender groups.
The good news? There has been national progress in the past few years.
At the start of 2020, the representation of women in corporate America was trending in the right direction, according to McKinsey's 2020 Women in the Workplace study, which tracks the progress of women in corporate America. Between January 2015 and January 2020, representation of women in senior-vice-president positions grew from 23% to 28%, and representation in the c-suite grew from 17% to 21%, yet for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 85 women were promoted.
Women remained significantly outnumbered in entry-level management roles at the beginning of 2020 — they held just 38% of manager-level positions, while men held 62%.
And then COVID-19 hit this spring and the outlook became much grimmer as 2 million women are considering leaving the workforce due to the impact of the pandemic, revealed the study.
"If these women feel forced to leave the workplace, we'll end up with far fewer women in leadership — and far fewer women on track to be future leaders. All the progress we've seen over the past six years could be erased," stated the report.
And that's a fear clearly expressed during a panel talk on attracting and keeping women in fast casual brand leadership roles at the recent Fast Casual Executive Summit, held virtually Oct. 20-21, presented by FastCasual.com.
The session, "Women in the Lead: Keeping the Momentum Going," was sponsored by Messner Reeves, a full-service national law firm. The panel featured Amy Hom, sweetgreen vice president of operations, Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs and food safety officer at Chipotle Mexican Grill and Carin Stutz, CEO of Native Foods. Michelle Harden, a partner at Messner Reeves, moderated the panel.
Moving up requires boosting networking, confidence
The first task to change the gender equation is attracting more women to a restaurant/foodservice career path and, more importantly, once they are on that path providing needed support, guidance, mentoring and, most of all, boosting self-confidence.
Organizations such as Global Leadership Enhancement & Mentorship Network are striving to provide that support and access to mentoring programs and mentors — which panel leaders all agreed play a critical role in supporting the underserved community within the foodservice industry.
Since being launched this spring, GLEAM has already started programming, including one-on-one mentoring and a leadership lecture series. Its mentoring program runs for six months and participants commit to monthly hour-long sessions with different levels for emerging leaders and executives.
"Back in the 90s it was a challenge to work your way up, and working in this industry has been amazing and I count my blessing. But we worked hard," said Stutz, who is deeply involved with GLEAM's mission.
Prior to her CEO and president role at Native Foods, Stutz served as EVP/COO at Red Robin, president of McAlister's Deli, CEO and president of Cosi, president of global business for Brinker, EVP of operations for Applebee's and Pacific DVP for Wendy's International.
Hom echoed Stutz's sentiments, noting "it takes a tribe and a village to get where we are. You have to do your homework and advocate for yourself," she said.
Hom leads and supports sweetgreen operations and has more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Before joining sweetgreen she served as VP of Red Robin, leading over 250 locations in the U.S .and Canada, and as senior operations director of Wolfgang Puck. She serves on the California Restaurant Association board and is a volunteer for Calicinto Ranch. She is currently creating a program for upcoming individuals in the industry called LEAD.
In the industry for more than two decades, Schalow said women striving to move up need to own their own career in the male dominated field. "Know what you want to do and have a plan," she said.
The current COVID-19 pandemic, said Hom, is a more challenging time than ever for females advancing the ranks due to the increased stress and home life demands. She said female leaders need to reach out to women just starting out and advancing and have a conversation about how to make it possible for them to be successful.
"Now it's even more important to support women in the workplace," she said.
Support, support, support
One key requirement, said the panelists, is for those already high up in the fast casual ranks to make time to support, mentor and help upcoming leaders hurdle obstacles.
"Women need to have more confidence and we need to support and raise each other up. As we move up we open doors for others to come up," said Schalow, who began her career with Yum! Brands in 1994 when she joined Taco Bell and served as the national spokesperson. In 2005, she joined KFC, where she created publicity plans, managed community relations initiatives, all internal and external communications and crisis management.
In 2011, she became VP of public affairs for Yum! Brands, overseeing global corporate social responsibility, PR and crisis management. In 2017, she joined Chipotle Mexican Grill as the first chief communications officer.
Stutz said she often hears women in the industry state they're not ready for a career advancement or a challenging leadership role and often believe that their current team needs them to stay.
"A lot of women have the misconception that the next promotion will mean more hours, but we can't possibly work more hours," she said. "It is up to us to dispel the myths."
Stutz estimates that within the fast casual industry, women are filling 50% of entry level roles but just 17% on the c-suite executive level.
"We need to close that gap and it has to be intentional. Having a diverse team makes you more profitable," she said.
Intentional is exactly the approach Chipotle is taking, said Schalow, with three women on its nine-member board.
"We are being intentional on having diversity at all levels, and people can see the opportunities, have goals and plan. It does take time," she said.
Tips for moving up the ranks
In terms of what fast casual female workers can do to advance, Hom recommends that they focus on why they can do the job rather than why they can't. It's also critical to network at every opportunity, she said.
"Take time to get to know whatever female leaders are in the company, as well as male leaders. Be mindful, purposeful and intentional."
Schalow recommends raising the hand for jobs and projects others may shy from and getting knowledgeable about a part of the business that no one may be focused on.
"Networking is very critical from a sounding board about work to your personal world. We all need a 'truth-teller,' someone who will give you the trust on your performance and who is there because they want you to succeed."
Just as important, said Hom, is listening to what the mentor and truth-teller is sharing.
"Listen to the feedback, it's a gift, a gift of their time. Soak every moment in."
And, never ever let a man interrupt you while you're talking, advised Stutz.
"If you let that go, what will others around think? Speak up and ask to finish your statement. It's much more powerful," she said. In presenting insight and feedback on work projects, women need to support their ideas and back up those ideas with facts and data, she added.
"It's time to step up and take those opportunities when they come along. Be confident."
About Judy Mottl
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