Best practices for food and beverage (F&B) services companies to improve gender equity

Food and beverage (F&B) services companies can roll out 17 interventions to hire and retain more women

Hiring more women in entry-level roles in food and beverage services companies can:

Food and beverage services companies have low gender equity in entry-levels today because of company and ecosystem-level challenges:

Managers perceive kitchen roles as inappropriate for women due to heavy lifting, fast-paced work, high-heat and potential resistance to authority from men
Managers perceive roles in dining restaurants as inappropriate for women due to long shifts and male-dominated work environments
Managers are reluctant to hire women in shifts ending late evening (post ~7-8 PM) due to safety concerns
Brands and franchisees place limited priority on gender diversity

Skilling/ training programs for culinary/ chef roles have low gender diversity
Some laws (e.g., mandatory pick-up and drop for night shifts) make women uncompetitive in the labour market
Some states disallow women from working in alcohol-serving outlets
Cities/ towns, especially suburbs or during late hours, lack affordable and safe transport facilities

As of 2025, the gender diversity in food and beverage outlets is 21%. The outlets have high potential for employing more women in three segments:

Quick service restaurants (QSRs) can add more women in afternoon/ evening shifts, where gender diversity is <10% compared with 35-50% in morning/ day shifts
Dining restaurants (fine dining and casual dining) can add women across roles, as gender diversity is currently <10% in kitchen roles and <20% in non-kitchen roles
Cloud kitchens, pubs/ bars, and central kitchens (e.g., used for event catering) have potential to employ women across all roles

Food and beverage services companies can follow a 3-phased approach to make their operations more gender-equitable:

Build the organisation’s capability (1-6 months): Establish the foundation by setting a company-level gender diversity target and sensitising employees through workplace conduct posters and trainings
Prioritise and implement (6-18 months): Ensure sustained focus by incorporating diversity guidelines in franchisee contracts, adopting inclusive hiring practices (e.g., gender diversity targets in shortlisting), and setting up grievance redressal systems
Embed and scale (18-36 months): Institutionalise gender diversity by recognising managers with gender-diverse teams, disseminating business benefits, and strengthening support for women workers via part-time work options and safety provisions

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