Pizza Today _ January 23 - 14

MAN ON THE STREET SCO TT WIENER
in the business.
By choosing inclusive language, we
can open the doors to those who don't
identify as male. Rather than talking
about how " some guys use electric ovens, "
switch to " some pizza makers use electric
ovens. " Instead of hiring " pizza men, "
hire " pizza makers. " When you're excited
about the support you get from your
peers, talk about it as a " community " or
" family " rather than a " brotherhood " or
" fraternity. "
Being conscious about language like
Pizza (Wo)Man
Wanted
I
t's no secret that the pizza industry
is dominated by men. Images of
mustachioed pizza makers adorn
every menu, coupon and pizza box not
just in the U.S. but globally. It's a reality
of the restaurant industry that's particularly
obvious in pizzerias, but that doesn't
mean it has to stay that way.
If we look to the past, it's clear that
women have long held a signifi cant role
in pizza culture. Th e most famous pizza in
the world was named for Queen Margherita
of Savoy. Th e most popular pizza
movies have featured Sofi a Loren and
Julia Roberts hawking pizza for a living.
Nicole Russell of Last Dragon pizza
hosts the incredibly successful " Pizza
Wars " show for First We Feast's YouTube
channel. Here in New York City, the
proprietors of the oldest and most famous
pizzerias were brought into the business
because of their wives' families. Some
of those classic pizzerias are still run by
women today.
Contrary to these examples, the pizza
industry still manages to unintentionally
exclude women. Male dominance
has become so common that we don't
even notice it anymore. We use language
like " pizza guys " to refer to one another.
When a pizzeria is hiring, I often see a
sign in the window that says, " Pizza Man
Wanted. " People in the pizza biz often
referred to it as a " brotherhood " or " fraternity. "
In cases like these, there's no reason
to specify a gender - so when we do, it
lands pretty loudly. It's not hard to fi gure
out why women may not feel comfortable
this isn't political and it shouldn't be controversial.
As an educator and tour guide,
words are my most important means
of communication. So, I'm constantly
picking apart the way I phrase things.
I've had to stop myself in the middle of
a sentence many times just to correct
my wording. It's not easy to shift out of
a way of speaking or thinking that's so
automatic, but that's the fi rst step.
By reading a magazine like this, you've
already demonstrated your desire to learn
and develop your skills. Th ink about
changing your language as another skill
development, just like improving your
dough skills or your delivery mechanics.
At a time when staffi ng issues have
become a huge roadblock for pizzerias,
it's especially important not to exclude
any potential employee.
As male as it looks from the outside,
those in the business know there are
many women in leadership roles. Just
look at the World Pizza Champions
membership and you'll see people like
Audrey Kelly, Laura Meyer, Melissa
Rickman, Nicole Bean, Brittany Saxton,
Floriana Pastore and Tara Hattan. Th ere's
even an organization that supports and
promotes women in the business, called
Women In Pizza. Representation is the
fi rst step toward cultural inclusion and
it does look like the pizza biz is turning
a corner to lead the entire restaurant
industry towards a brighter future.
SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott's Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org Instagram: @scottspizzatours
14 / PIZZATODAY.COM / JANUARY 2023

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Pizza Today _ January 23

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today _ January 23