A gender analysis of restaurant employee profiles and perceptions in South Africa.

Abstract

The restaurant industry is highly variable and responsive to customer demands and changes. It is a major industry that contributes to economic development and job creation. There is increasing focus on restaurant employees with limited focus on gender aspects which include wage gaps, occupational segregation, advancement opportunities and working conditions that apply to the tourism and hospitality sector more generally. It is in this context that the study undertakes an analysis of restaurant employee profiles and perceptions in South Africa to better understand employee trends and practices from a gender perspective. Employee surveys were conducted at 402 restaurants in selected South African cities (Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg representing cities in South Africa with the largest number of restaurants and Pietermaritzburg and Polokwane representing cities with lower numbers of restaurants) as part of a National Department of Tourism funded study was subjected to a gendered analysis. In total, 1 869 surveys were completed at the 402 purposively selected restaurants. Some of the key findings are that restaurants in South Africa, as is the trend globally, employ a generally youthful and female population with close to a third being foreigners. A trend that is dissimilar to global patterns is that in South Africa most employees (irrespective of gender) in the restaurant industry work on a permanent rather than a casual or temporary basis although the wages received were relatively low with males on average earning more than females. Furthermore, almost all employees earn a salary with half of the respondents indicating tips as well. The results indicate the importance of the restaurant industry as an employer in South Africa. The relatively high turnover suggests areas of employee dissatisfaction which include low salaries as well as limited promotion opportunities, rewards and benefits. The main skills required in the restaurant industry identified by employees were emotional/ behavioral attributes, functional skills, and knowledge-based and physical skills, with the customer-centric orientation of the skills needed being evident. Very few gender differences were noted in relation to skills/ attributes needed for positions in the restaurant industry, which is contradictory to assertions in the literature. This suggests that gendered recruiting and occupational segregation are problematic since both males and females identify similar skills as being important. Key recommendations forwarded are to further examine employee vulnerabilities in the restaurant sector, especially in relation to specific gender issues such as harassment experienced which was not included in the survey used in this study. Future research should also look at perceptions of whether tips should be retained as a form of remuneration, gender influences when recruiting and promoting staff and job security issues. Training of staff in relation to dealing with customers as well as addressing concerns that lead to high staff turnover are also areas identified that need attention. More generally, there is a need to rethink training for the restaurant sector given that generally qualifications are not required. Finally, it is recommended that COVID-19 impacts be better understood and addressed.