Between 2011 and 2017, female franchise ownership jumped by 83 percent, while male ownership increased by only 13 percent. Subway, the world’s largest restaurant chain, is celebrating its female franchisees.
- Jennifer English: Jennifer oversees 116 Subways in Western Texas and Southern New Mexico and owns 12 restaurants of her own. With Subway, she has prioritized community engagement. In the past, Jennifer has partnered with the USO to supply lunches to soldiers. Currently, Jennifer’s restaurants are helping to feed those caught at the border
- Montserrat Odio: Montserrat’s husband was one of the founding Subway Franchisees in Costa Rica. After his passing in 2011, Subway helped Montserrat receive the proper training to take over his business. Today, Montserrat owns and operates the 78 Subway restaurants in Costa Rica. Recently, Montserrat started an initiative where her restaurants educated customers on how plastic items such as straws cause damage to oceans and marine life in an effort to reduce waste
- Margot Micallef: Margot owns five Subway restaurants and oversees more than 800 in Alberta and British Columbia. Margot believes organizations, especially franchise, benefit from female leadership, since women leaders tend to operate under a spoke-and-wheel structure, rather than a hierarchy
- Datin Cynthia Cheong: Cynthia oversees 133 Subway restaurants, 32 of which are her own in Malaysia. During the 16 years she’s worked with Subway, she feels most proud about making sandwiches more common in her country, where local cuisine is traditionally very different.
