Barriers to Career Advancement of Women Chefs Leading to their Poor Visibility in Hotel Industry: A Study with Special Reference to Bengaluru

Abstract

Women chefs are accepted to lead in case of domestic realm of cooking, but the contrast is true in the scenario of professional cooking which is done outside the home boundary, as it is widely viewed as an activity that is executed outside the periphery of women’s place. Although many women enrol into culinary schools, they normally do not make it to the frontier because the organizational environment in the culinary sector does not allow them to grow owing to various challenges faced by them. In the present study, a survey (N= 123) among women chefs working in the Hotel industry of Bengaluru, India is conducted to determine the barriers to career advancement of women chefs in the hotel industry of Bengaluru. Barriers to career advancement are due to several reasons like discouragement of upward movement in hierarchy, whole self-authenticity, marginalizing, being less ambitious due to their marital status and lastly lack of confidence which are found to contribute significantly to the opportunities for women chefs in climbing the professional ladder. Following the research study findings, recommendations related to improving the career prospects of women chefs within the hotel industry is put forward.