‘Could You Get One Of The Boys To Do This For Me?’: What It’s Like To Be A Woman In Melbourne Hospo

Melbourne. We’re a city of laneway cafes, late-night restaurants and bustling basement bars—and arguably the world’s best food scene. And behind the scenes are some very talented women.

But it’s not always roses for them. They’ve breached an industry that has a shockingly low rate of participation from women—in some areas of hospitality under 15 percent of the workforce is female. 

We caught up with a few of the city’s most inspiring women to hear their stories, their challenges and most important of all, what the future holds for our hospitality industry.

“I always wanted to open my own business,” Almay Jordaan, co-owner of Neighbourhood Wine, tells us. After moving to Australia 15 years ago, Jordaan brought with her inspiration from Parisian wine bars and British gastro-pubs to create her moody Fitzroy North haunt. Despite her success, 20 years experience, running three venues and a CV that spans three continents, Jordaan says her business ideas still get “bulldozed” by men in the industry. 

“When I do have something to say that I know will work because I've been doing it for 24 years, I get talked over anyway,” Jordaan says. “Then you have to find ways to get your idea across by kind of making everyone think that they came up with it anyway.”

Nicole Konstandakopoulos started off waiting tables at her family restaurant and all-around iconic Greek spot Stalactites which opened in 1978. She took up the mantle of Director in 2001 and agrees the male influence in the industry is hard to escape. 

“I find that you go to networking events and you’re surrounded by all the owners of businesses and 90 per cent are men,” she says. “That can be quite hard because it’s then hard for women to empower other women to succeed, because you don't see it around you much.”

This sentiment is echoed by Sandra Foti, owner of Piccolina. Foti previously worked as a graphic designer, but found her creative outlet in the form of gelato. “I was recently at a function and I looked around and there had to have been maybe 10 women—and there were easily 100 men,” she says.

“Business in general is difficult, but we've just got this added pressure that I think males don't have,” she says. “I've had experiences where men who think they're in positions of power have attempted to leverage that against me, but I'm not afraid to stand up for myself.”

And stand up for herself she did, recalling a sexist experience (that we won’t repeat) with another industry professional. “In that moment,” Foti says, “I felt that I was standing up for not only myself, but for my daughter, my sisters, my girlfriends and so many other women in business.”

According to the most recent data from the ABS Labour Force Survey 2023, only 28 percent of chefs and 13 percent of butchers and smallgoods makers in Australia are women. Similarly, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency data (from 2023-2024) shows that only 13 percent of CEOs or equivalent leading roles and 35 per cent head of businesses in hospitality are women.

These statistics are something that these women want to see change over the next decade in Melbourne. “I would like to see more women in leadership roles in hotels and restaurants where they’re given the executive positions as opposed to just the customer-facing roles,” Nicole Konstandakopoulos says. 

However, work-life balance remains a hurdle to working in the sector, particularly for those with families, she says. “If you want women to be in those roles it has to be family-friendly—there has to be some sort of equity.”

Jordaan shares a similar attitude. She says the disparity in male applicants for chef jobs is huge. “Out of maybe 90 applications, I'd get maybe five female applicants,” she says, “However, the all-consuming nature of the job didn’t and still doesn't suit some women. It’s really hard. You can hit your head on a brick wall—I don't know how to change that. I just think with time more and more women will learn how to balance things better because there’s more space for them to do so.”

Above all else, these women are passionate about supporting the next generation of women in the Melbourne hospitality scene. “I'd love to one day give back and mentor young women,” Foti says, “because it's hard to find other women in business that you can call up and ask, ‘what do you think I should do in this situation?’”

“There’s definitely not a lot of women in the meat industry,” says Ashleigh McBean, a fifth generation butcher, who works alongside her dad at G.McBean Family Butcher in Prahran Market. 

McBean says she loves the industry because of the community it provides. “I love having conversations with customers and being able to figure out an affordable replacement or a good way to cook something,” she says, “But every now and then someone will ask me, ‘hey could you get one of the butchers to bone this out for me, could you get one of the boys to do this for me?’ It’s not offensive, but a little irritating at times.”

Despite the challenges, Jordaan, Konstandakopoulos, Foti and McBean all say they still love the industry and wouldn’t trade their careers for anything. They’re optimistic about the future and are excited to work alongside the next generation of women, who will continue to make that future brighter.

“Just put yourself out there and believe that people are willing to help,” says McBean, “because if anyone were to come to dad or to myself and say ‘I’m really interested in the meat industry, are you willing to put on an apprentice?’, we’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“What I've done in my business, I hope to show that women can bring creativity, resilience and innovation to the table,” Foti says. “If we continue to become a really diverse, inclusive and balanced sector, our future will be even more dynamic and even more vibrant.”