Lonely at the Top

Abstract

A 1996 survey of 57 women executives in 48 multiunit restaurant companies found that virtually all came to the restaurant industry with management skills acquired elsewhere, rather than rising through the ranks using industry-specific knowledge. Moreover, although all respondents had graduate or undergraduate college degrees, none indicated that they held hospitality degrees. Advancement through the ranks to an executive position is no longer possible in the industry without formal education, according to these respondents. Not only did the respondents concur that the multiunit restaurant industry lags behind other industries in elevating women to the rank of CEO, but they saw little likelihood that the situation will change any time soon for themselves or their peers.