Olympus is abuzz. The amped-up Greek taverna is the crown jewel of inner Sydney’s $500 million Wunderlich Lane precinct, garnering rave reviews from professionals and punters, and splashed across social media showing off its ancient amphitheatre-inspired central courtyard.
With this year’s International Women’s Day Theme focusing on “Rights. Equality. Empowerment” for all women and girls, Olympus’ leadership team is also noteworthy: it’s all-female, led by head chef Ozge Kalvo, restaurant manager Lucia Konacova, and head sommelier Zoe Brunton.
But why does it matter that Olympus' leadership team is all ladies?
“Why?” says Ozge. “Because nobody has it!”
Ozge Kalvo | Credit: Trent van der Jagt
As the hospitality industry continues to grapple with systemic sexism, underrepresentation, and harassment and assault, it’s crucial that women in all aspects of the sector are celebrated, elevated and supported.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2023–24 Gender Equality data shows that while women make up 52 per cent of the industry, they are underrepresented in all management and leadership categories; 40 per cent of managers are women, a proportion that dwindles rapidly up the ranks, landing at just 13 per cent for CEOs or similar.
“You see a lot of women in middle management, but at the top it's still very male dominant,” agrees Zoe.
“Society has allowed [men] to have greater natural confidence, whereas we're still getting out of that stigma for women. I think it’s changing a lot—but not at the speed we need it to be.”
In 2022, the Australian Human Rights Commission released inTime for respect: Fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces that 40% of women in the Accommodation and Food Services category had experienced workplace sexual harassment. Younger workers and gender-diverse workers had even higher rates on average.
For Zoe (who is also a board member of Women and Revolution, a network tackling gender inequality across the wine industry), change comes from conversations.
“Women And Revolution has been very outspoken on what needs to happen and what needs to change. As an industry we need to be better, and we need to keep questioning and pushing and adapting to change or we're just gonna go back to the dark ages.”
Zoe Brunton | Credit: Nikki To
Speaking on the power of female representation, both Ozge and Zoe name influential female role models throughout their careers.
“One of my biggest mentors is Annette Lacey, who’s an MW [Master of Wine] and works at Solotel,” Zoe reflects.
“The way she led and nurtured and broke down barriers and opened doors and empowered—I don't think I've seen any female leader quite like that. I think she's been quite instrumental to a lot of the female somms who have worked alongside her.”
When Ozge first came to Australia from Türkiye (where she worked under two female head chefs), she landed at Nomad in Surry Hills. “Jacqui [Challinor] was in her first couple of years in a head chef position,” she says. “I admired a lot the strong figure she was in the kitchen. It was a good example for me.”
For Lucia, it’s a gap: “I haven’t really worked with a female in a high position in my career. I guess I was just learning from men what not to do…”
With the women on top, what’s different about how Olympus is run? They’re obviously doing something right; Ozge, Zoe and Lucia agree that it’s all about the interpersonal dynamics they curate.
“We are more nurturing,” says Lucia. “Our management approach is definitely very different."
"Men are not often held accountable for their reactions or the way they speak to the team, but as females—we are.”
Ozge agrees: “We care about each other. We ask, “How are you? How was last night? Are you feeling okay? If you don't feel okay, how can I help you?””
While being realistic about the current state of the hospitality industry, the trio are hopeful that the near future holds change for women as far as their treatment and opportunities for advancement.
“I do believe businesses [like Olympus] are making active changes around their recruitment process,” says Zoe. “They’re asking, “Why aren't we seeing female applicants? What are we not doing?”” And that conversation is starting to change to, “How do we attract not just women, but the best in the business, and get them in those positions?””
Ozge agrees: “If you don’t question, if you don't look for better, it will happen again and again.”
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Image credit: Olympus | Nikki To