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| ISSUE NO. 498 |
WE STARTED GFJ ON SOME GOOD ADVICE . . .much of which is too numerous to mention at once, but in particular, the words of a former boss: decide what is important to you, and what you want your life to look like, and then create or go after an opportunity that will let you live the kind of life you'd like to live. In looking to the future as a woman in her mid-20's, I loved my first job out of college (I was running the Education Department at a well-known specialty food store in New York City, where I tasted incredible foods + beverages on the regular, interacted with colleagues and customers that were really interested in food culture, and shared a love of good food) but my schedule was not sustainable. I threw myself into it, in the name of wanting to learn and to be as helpful and dependable as possible, but working 60+ hours a week meant I missed loved ones' birthdays, or friend's weddings, or family dinners. I knew that I wanted to have children someday, and I needed to consider how to bend and shape my work to allow for this other role that I would, eventually, be just as eager to take on. Creating Good Food Jobs allowed me to do just that. We have a creative outlet where we are able to help people dive deeper into food culture and make a difference. It amplifies the great work that we were previously doing. And we also set it up in such a way that it gives us the flexibility and freedom to take on these other important life roles. For this, we are truly thankful. It's only in hindsight that I am equally impressed with my insight and initiative to do this, and enraged at the fact that this level of coordination falls disproportionately on women. This issue runs very deep, and there are many complex layers to unpack (such as the added dimension of privilege and how these issues are further exacerbated for women of color), but at the heart of it, I feel the conflicting nature of the cultural expectation pushing women to have families and the lack of resources provided to them when they do. Yes, men experience this as well, but in a different capacity. I'm reminded of an eye-opening discussion with Gabrielle Hamilton and Suzanne Goin at the 2014 Cherry Bombe Jubilee conference in New York City, where Hamilton summed up her choice to own a restaurant as the only feasible solution to being both a chef and a mother, and Suzanne said, 'I'm always disappointing someone. I'm still not okay with it, but I have to accept it. Some night, a lot of nights, it's my kids.' Familiar words, or thoughts, for many of us. In the most egalitarian households, there are still so many things related to parenting that fall disproportionately on women, and adversely affect our ability to do all of the jobs that we may want / might be expected of us. While we do not have all (or any?) of 'the answers', we did line up some tidbits (see below) that have spoken to us over the last few years, and that (we hope) propel the conversation onward. We're also curious, how do you balance work in the food world with parenting? With love and care,
Tay + Dor Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs |
tidbits...what we’re reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday… |
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