Women play integral roles in keeping U.S. restaurants rolling along, and the industry provides both sexes with the chance to learn vital skills, develop work habits and advance into higher-level careers, according to recent research from the National Restaurant Association.
More than half of U.S. restaurants are either owned or co-owned by women, according to the NRA. Women were the sole owners of 24.7% of “accommodation and foodservice” businesses as of 2014, according to a separate report from American Express, but that study also found that, as women ownership grew in other business sectors, only 2.3% of the women-owned businesses in the U.S. were in the foodservice industry.
The Amex report doesn’t break out how many of the restaurants are franchises, but earlier research by the International Franchise Association revealed that sole ownership by women dipped between 2002 and 2007, the most recent year measured. The report found that 12.5% of franchised restaurant were owned by women and 25.7% were equally owned by men and women in 2007, compared to 13.2% and 20.3% respectively in 2002.
