[Maryjane]

Quote by: tommy5x Kitchen. next

Equal pay for equal work--that was the promise made to working women more than 40 years ago when the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into law. Yet more than four decades later, many women--including those in foodservice--continue to earn less than their male counterparts who perform the same jobs and work the same number of hours, according to the most recent government data. In fact, most women would have to work for 16 months to earn the same wages men earn in 12 months, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity, or NCPE, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition that works to eliminate gender- and race-based wage discrimination. For that reason, April 19 is "equal pay day," the day women's earnings catch up to the salaries men realized in the prior calendar year, according to NCPE. But even as most women in businesses nationwide continue to pocket smaller paychecks than those of their male peers, progress has been made--albeit slowly and, in foodservice, not without plateaus or slippage, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. "When you've gotten into detailed occupational roles and you still find those wage differences, it is pretty powerful evidence," says Robert Nelson, the director of the American Bar Foundation and professor of sociology and law at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. "People say, 'Oh, that was yesterday,' or 'Everything has changed,' but that is not the case... You have to point out disparities to get people to think there is still a problem. They see the numbers and say, 'Oh, wow.' "

Alrighty then, how about they start getting paid equally? It's the reason I walked off my last job.

"There is a reluctance to advance women in the kitchen," she says. "That was a major problem for me moving up. I was flat out asked by a guy, 'Who's going to look after your babies while you're at work'?' ... or 'How are you going to lift a big pot'?' and I told him, 'With my two arms.' "

Echo, Echo, Echo...I heard the same back in 1975 when I started out.

Stewart continues: "Twenty or thirty years ago there was no talk of [diversity]: today there is certainly an awareness and a mindset that didn't exist then. Having said that, we all know it is sometimes lip service--it is good talk and people know the right things to say. If you want to change the culture at your company so that people throughout your organization support women and minorities, it starts at the top. That will never change."

(bolding mine)


http://www.foodandsocietyfellows.org...fm?refID=79594