When you are a girl, you are told about the sexist culture you are about to go into. When you’re finally a woman, you know that all the things they said about being in a world full of sexism is unfortunately true.
The corporate world is also full of misogyny and men who are always trying to prove that they can be better than women just because they are men. In the culinary world, the scenario doesn’t change that much: even though most of the cooks are women, just a few are chefs.Ā
āI have been cooking professionally since I was 18 years old. I left home at 17 when I still worked as a model. I can’t even count how many times IĀ“ve faced misogyny and sexism in these areasā, said Helena Rizzo, a renowned Brazilian chef, in her Instagram.
Quotes like HelenaĀ“s show that women face sexist places all the time, especially during work. She also mentioned multiple times when she felt bothered in the workplace and how hard it was to fight against it. āThe best I could do was give an embarrassing smile and move onā she said.
In moments like this, us women feel afflicted and frustrated, because we feel the need to āproveā and explain to society the seriousness of the situations we go through. When we realize most of the people are against us, we feel alone and guilty.
In an article published by Rafael Tonon, a Brazilian gastronomic journalist, he says that even though women are working hard in the gastronomic world, thereĀ“s no name in evidence that shows their work. According to research from ChefĀ“s Pencil, an international food magazine, that analyzed 16 countries, only 6% of 2000 restaurants had women working on the highest seats of the gastronomic hierarchy.Ā
Rafael Tonon also mentioned that, when we realize women’s cooking was always delimited and related to the domestic kitchen, and not to the existence of a business, we realize that there’s no recognition of this work in the society.
We need to work together to create a better place and a more welcoming one. We all need to realize that thereĀ“s no difference between the gender who’s working in the culinary industry. Women can also run any kind of business and be placed on top of the hierarchy everywhere.Ā
We have examples of women who run restaurants and are hosts from TV shows, like Rita Lobo and Paola Carosella.
The powerful, creative and inspiring chefs are always encouraging all the girls and women who dream to become chefs and work with what they love.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Imagure.
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