In the Media: Empowering Female Bartenders

Toast takes on the topic of empowering female bartenders.

We are so impressed by this article on Toast, How to Empower Female Bartenders in Your Restaurant and Beyond, and it’s not just because it includes our founder Karen Hoskin’s take on the subject. It shines an in depth look at how far women have come in the bartending industry and the challenges that still need to be addressed.

Karen Hoskin, an advocate for gender diversity in the world of spirits.

Did you know, for example, that in the early 1900s there were only 150 female bartenders in the US (.3% of the entire restaurant workforce)? And that a 1948 Supreme Court ruling prevented women from tending bar until the 1970s? Fast forward to 2015, and women made up 60% of the bar workforce, yet continue to face challenges when it comes to things like unequal pay (87 cents for every dollar a male counterpart makes) and inappropriate attention and harassment on the job.

This thorough and fascinating article talks to industry leaders and workers to get their takes on the current reality, as well as what can and should be done. As Karen is quoted as saying, “#MeToo put some important people on notice and may have begun to shift the culture, but there is still a great deal more work to be done.”

Read the full article on Toast. It’s definitely worth your time.