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March 8 is International Women’s Day, previously called the Working Woman’s Day. The name change was made in 1975 and it was called that because until recently the woman could not work, own anything, open a checking account, run a marathon, get divorced or get an ID. This happened in our country in the years 1975-1985. Only 4 decades have passed and in a few years we have come a long way. The female vote was legal in 1976, recognized in the 1931 Constitution and repealed by Franco until the Spanish Transition.
The origin of the date are several, all of them extremely important. In March 1911 there was a fire at the Triangle Waist Co shirt-making factory in New York. The 129 workers and 17 male workers died, leaving another 70 injured. They were young immigrants between the ages of 48 and 14 and they were locked up for long hours so that there would be no robberies for a paltry salary. As a result of this tragic event, the labor legislation began to change. In 1914, it is the first time that women from all over Europe hold rallies to show solidarity in favor of peace and against war. In 1917, during World War I, Russian women and mothers, with spontaneous demonstrations in the face of hunger and desolation, achieved important changes. March 8 was the day the Soviet Union decided to proclaim International Women’s Day after achieving voting, abortion and divorce. Later, different countries were added to the same date.
This date may seem absurd today, but beyond what our generation has achieved, we must remember the reason for this triumph. We women can vote and be one more in society thanks to the effort and death of many of those who literally fought to have the rights we have today. For that reason alone, we must give it the importance it deserves.
Great women in history still appear in which her work has been ignored or transferred to a man so that he receives recognition. Marie Curie would not have received the Nobel Prize if her husband had not stood up. The committee did not recognize her work because she is a woman. This is repeated in fields such as literature or medicine.
Also, the knowledge we have is based on the male figure. A clear example is the symptoms of a heart attack. In men, they occur with oppression in the diaphragm area and intense pain in the left half of the chest that radiates to the arm, while in women cold sweating, nausea, or pain in the back, jaw, or jaw are much more common. and neck. This means that devices designed for cardiac support are more effective in men than in women.
It should be noted that there is still much to do. There are still countries that are not allowed to go alone, work, drive, study or show their face. And every time a woman dies at the hands of a partner, we are reminded of how vulnerable we are. Beyond femicide, other deep-rooted problems are female genital mutilation, harassment, sexual exploitation, abuse, stereotypes, etc. There is no social class in this area, and for this reason alone we must support each other as a society, men and women .
In the hospitality industry, the path has not been easy either. Women have been the cooks in the homes but professionally they are less recognized. We already know that the role of mother has come to the fore as one of the causes, but what man has done has been to make his name prevail thanks to the laws and the social support of his peers. As an important fact, more than half of the active population dedicated to the hospitality industry in Spain is female, 52%, and only 40% of the hospitality establishments are run by women, of which 10% have a Michelin star.
Personally, I can give my own vision because I have been a businesswoman and chef of my own restaurant. The path was not easy at all, from the perspective of constantly having to prove that I was the owner of the business (year 1993). -Excuse me, could I speak to the boss please? Yes, tell me it’s me.- Then his face changed and he tensed up to speak. At that moment I realized that most men are only comfortable talking to men. Fortunately this has been changing although there is still work to be done. Being commanded by women is still an option that is not liked in “some business areas.”
But beyond the private company where you put your roof, outside there, when you are an employee, everything changes, the rules are different. There is always a boss who tends to prefer men to collaborate, discern, discuss or speak. Which leads us to a constant invisibility. María José San Román, in charge of the Monastrell restaurant, with a Michelin star in Alicante, denounces that “invisibility is entrenched and invisible talent discourages future generations. It is a global problem whose change we can lead from Spain.
I join her in her opinion as a FP cooking teacher where only 30% of the student body and faculty are female. This means that this group must be made visible and supported, especially in making them see that their point of view is important and different: the way of working, expressing themselves or thinking.
As young cooks who are leaving their mark, we can luckily name many who have set up their own restaurant to make their way. This is the case of Lucía Freitas with @atafonarestaurante, María Gomez with @magogarestaurante or Lucía Grávalos @mentica_gastronómico. Although others already made their way years ago, such as Fina Puigdevall from @lescols_finapuigdevall or Carme Ruscalleda, already retired. Internationally we have Dominique Creen with 3 Michelin stars @atelier.creen. This brief summary of chefs that is growing more and more shows us a significant change in the hospitality industry that is highly anticipated.
To all of them and to the rest of the women,
Happy Women’s Day!
