Description
How workers navigate race, gender, and class in the food service industry
Two unequal worlds of work exist within the upscale restaurant scene of Los Angeles. White, college-educated servers operate in the front of the house-also known as the public areas of the restaurant-while Latino immigrants toil in the back of the house and out of customer view.In Front of the House, Back of the House, Eli Revelle Yano Wilson shows us what keeps these workers apart, exploring race, class, and gender inequalities in the food service industry. Drawing on research at three different high-end restaurants in Los Angeles, Wilson highlights why these inequalities persist in the twenty-first century, pointing to discriminatory hiring and supervisory practices that ultimately grant educated whites access to the most desirable positions. Additionally, he shows us how workers navigate these inequalities under the same roof, making sense of their jobs, their identities, and each other in a world that reinforces their separateness. Front of the House, Back of the House takes us behind the scenes of the food service industry, providing a window into the unequal lives of white and Latino restaurant workers.
Author: Eli Revelle Yano Wilson
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 12/29/2020
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781479800629
ISBN10: 1479800627
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Sociology | General
- Business & Economics | Industries | Food Industry
- Social Science | Discrimination
About the Author
Eli Revelle Yano Wilson is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of New Mexico.