---
title: "Gender Equality on the Menu: How More Women Are Stepping into Executive Leadership Roles within the Foodservice Industry"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4bb3d24f-356a-48e5-978c-2c186625e1c8
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/gender-equality-on-the-menu-how-more-women-are-stepping-into-executive-leadership-roles-within-the-foodservice-industry-2709594
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2019-04-02T15:10:42.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:30:43.247Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f8db15cc90b599a10f63f1e0f52b290d3105.jpg
---

# Gender Equality on the Menu: How More Women Are Stepping into Executive Leadership Roles within the Foodservice Industry

**TL;DR:** More women are moving into executive leadership roles in the foodservice industry, increasing diversity in the workplace. Women make up 52% of the industry but only 18% of C-suite positions.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-04-02. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/gender-equality-on-the-menu-how-more-women-are-stepping-into-executive-leadership-roles-within-the-foodservice-industry-2709594).*

## Story

More and more women are moving into C-suite and other executive-level leadership roles within the restaurant and foodservice industries, according to an article on Restaurant Dive.

“Women make up more than 52% of the restaurant and foodservice industry, but that number shrinks substantially the further up the corporate ladder, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, women represent only 18% of C-suite positions in the segment, the Women's Foodservice Forum reports,” the article said.

According to the article, women executives are some of the major mover-shakers when it comes to increasing diversity in the workplace. Brands like Yum Brands and McDonald’s are already leveraging technology to reach a more diverse employee applicant pool, the article said. More women in leadership positions and a more diverse talent pool can translate to greater success for those brands who make the commitment: “Growing corporate interest in diversity largely reflects consumer demand for mission-based brands, but it can also be beneficial to a company's bottom line,” the article said.

Given that women “have a purchasing power of $18 trillion around the world and are often the primary decision makers in their families,” per the article, it makes sense that women would see themselves represented in the boardroom.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- McDonald's (company)
- Yum Brands (company)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (regulator)
- executive leadership (topic)
- inclusion (topic)
- women in foodservice (topic)
- diversity in workplace (topic)
- corporate diversity (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/gender-equality-on-the-menu-how-more-women-are-stepping-into-executive-leadership-roles-within-the-foodservice-industry-2709594). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4bb3d24f-356a-48e5-978c-2c186625e1c8).