Grubhub today announced its continued commitment in supporting women-led restaurants during the second year of the company’s RestaurantHER initiative.
To expand on this initiative, originally announced in February 2018, Grubhub is partnering with the James Beard Foundation, one of the most influential organizations in the restaurant industry, specifically supporting the organization’s Women’s Leadership Programs, which is committed to advancing women in the culinary world. As part of this partnership, and beginning March 1 through the end of the month, Grubhub diners can “Donate the Change” by rounding up their order to the nearest dollar and donating the difference to this program, including the “Women’s Entrepreneurship Leadership” track. This programming provided by the James Beard Foundation is built out by its volunteer-based advisory council comprised of chefs, restaurateurs, business leaders, academics, and other experts.
“Correcting gender imbalance in the restaurant and culinary industry is a mission we’ve been extremely committed to for several years now,” says Katherine Miller, VP of Impact at the James Beard Foundation. “In partnering with an industry leader like Grubhub we’re able to combat this issue together, creating and providing the best tools and resources to train, support, and empower women throughout all stages of their professional careers.”
Additionally, to build on the momentum created at last year’s launch, Grubhub has added thousands of women-led restaurants to the well-received RestaurantHER map, which is an interactive resource to help diners locate and support establishments run by women nationwide. Launched as the first of its kind in 2018, this map incorporates restaurants owned or co-owned by a women or a kitchen led by a woman head or executive chef. Whether it’s Washington D.C.’s Pizzeria Paradiso run by Ruth Gresser, recently nominated as a James Beard Award semi-finalist for “Outstanding Restaurateur,” or Seattle’s Nue founded by Uyen Nguyen, diners can now easily order their favorites or find something new with more than 30,000 women-led restaurants within the map.
Lastly, as part of the 2018 RestaurantHER initiative, Grubhub and Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) worked together to develop a toolkit for aspiring female chefs and culinary leaders: Sharpen Your Skills. A guide of resources and best practices, this toolkit was built to help women navigate and address the challenges they face in today’s restaurant industry. Additionally, Grubhub contributed to WCR’s scholarship and mentorship programs, supporting and connecting over a dozen women in the culinary industry through formal apprenticeships.
“Continuing our efforts for the second year with Grubhub’s RestaurantHER initiative, and with a partner like the James Beard Foundation, is incredibly exciting and shows this is a cause many of us recognize is important,” says Matt Maloney, chief executive officer of Grubhub. “Women only make up 19 percent of chefs, and only 7 percent of head chefs, in today’s culinary world, and we know as a company we have the responsibility to raise awareness and make an impact on not only the industry, but our own platform as well. There’s no doubt that more diversity and overall support for women-run restaurants will spark new creativity and expertise to create and lead future generations of restaurateurs.”
