Food service sector leads in sex misconduct claims
In male-dominated industry, chefs have absolute power
In the male-dominated industry, chefs have absolute power.
Sexual harassment allegations, which have rocked the entertainment, political and media worlds, are stirring up in the restaurant industry.
Not only are a batch of celebrity chefs being called out for their behavior, but new allegations are emerging among the rank and file, as well.
More than 14% of the 41,250 sexual harassment claims filed in the USA from 2005 to 2015 were in the entire food service and hospitality sector, more than any other industry, according to the liberal think tank the Center for American Progress.
Though the accusations surfacing so far come mostly from the fine-dining world, experts say it’s only a matter of time before accusers at lower-end restaurants come forward, too.
This week, five women who used to work at the McCormick & Schmick’s seafood restaurant chain filed a suit alleging sexual harassment.
The Washington, D.C., firm Hart Research Asso- ciates found that in the fast-food industry in 2016, 40% of women experienced unwanted sexual behaviors on the job — with African-American and Latina women more likely to be victimized than white women. Yet those cases haven’t garnered the kind of attention that has landed a series of celebrity chefs in scalding water this past week.
On Monday, celebrity chef Mario Batali backed away from his restaurant empire and lost his TV gigs after multiple accusations.
The next day, The New York Times revealed that former employees of renowned New York City restaurateur Ken Friedman pointed their fingers at him for alleged sexual harassment.
On Wednesday, ABC dropped The Great American
Baking Show because of allegations against chef Johnny Iuzzini by former employees at the upscale New York City restaurant Jean-Georges.
Why the restaurant industry is ripe for sexual harassment charges:
❚ Too often, it’s a man’s world. Though plenty of women are rising through the ranks, restaurants remain male-dominated. The majority of highend eateries are helmed by men, and chain restaurants have many male location managers.
Owners and chefs often have absolute power in a fiefdom-style structure. It becomes even more pronounced at restaurants where the owner or head chef also has built a cult of personality.
Sure, not everyone is a Batali, but charismatic chefs can build a following inside and outside the building — and with that an I-get-what-I-want ego.
“The restaurant is not going to fire a chef with a (famous) name because he’s responsible for bringing in revenue,” said Susan Strauss, a Minnesota-based harassment and bullying expert. “It’s much easier to poo-poo or diminish an individual employee.” ❚ Food equals sex. Restaurants aren’t dentistry practices or insurance agencies. The nation’s obsession with gourmet-level food has an undercurrent of sensuality and hedonism, which makes restaurants stand apart from offices and factories. Throw in the availability of alcohol at the bar and you have the makings of some real trouble.
“You forget the restaurant is a workplace and you think of it as a casual, informal place people with friends and family, and you have different rules there,” Strauss said. ❚ An adrenaline rush. Restaurants are high-pressure environments as everyone hustles to prepare and serve cus- tomers quickly. Amid chefs barking orders and waiters demanding entrees faster comes a rush-rush-rush mood that can lead to snarky comments and inappropriate behavior.
“When people are working together on deadline, then there’s relief,” said San Francisco State University professor John Sullivan, a human-resources expert. “It’s the feeling of success. ‘ We finished!’ and then, there’s a tendency to hug each other and be free, a ‘We’re all in this together’ kind of thing.”
❚ Close quarters. Chefs, servers, dishwashers and table cleaners work in close proximity, often in cramped kitchens or narrow spaces between tables.
“You tend to have lots of young people in very tight spaces. Sometimes it’s a very fun environment and there’s banter going back and forth. Sometimes that crosses the line,” said Michael Cramer, a Chicago-based labor lawyer who gives workshops about sexual harassment in the workplace.
❚ Young people abound. Many staffers lower down the food chain are young. Perhaps it’s even their first job. They might not have a strong grasp on what is and isn’t acceptable.
And in the case of some restaurants, the managers are only a few years older themselves and not trained well about how to maintain a safe workspace and how to deal with workers’ complaints about sexual misconduct, Cramer said.
For others, restaurant jobs are a last resort. People who need to hold on to those paychecks are unlikely to complain even if they’re treated badly. That especially holds true for workers who are undocumented.
“I was a busboy,” Cramer said. “I got groped by women waitresses. I was a 16-year-old kid. I didn’t know.”