In honor of Women’s History Month, we have spent March 2021 in conversation with people who are making women’s history right now: our community of members, supporters, and staff. As part of our work to shape women’s history for future generations at this historic moment, we asked the Hot Bread Kitchen community what women’s history has meant on an individual level and what our members hope it will be when we reflect on this time. Below are responses from our community.
“I believe that what needs to be changed in order to change our future is education and acknowledgement that we all have different experiences based on our individual lives. Oftentimes we feel that everyone is awarded the same opportunities without ever considering some of the hardships that others may have undergone. Removing judgment and opening our hearts will shift our preconceived notions about certain groups, therefore prompting the support to remove barriers that prohibit some from obtaining their level of success.” —Onasia Blue, Hot Bread Kitchen Workforce Member
“For myself I want to be able to go anywhere that I want and to have freedom. I feel more empowered to do that here and with the knowledge from Hot Bread Kitchen. I want every woman to be able to improve her own life.” —Salma, Hot Bread Kitchen Workforce Member
“I have changed women’s history by being a role model for my daughter, encouraging her to go to school and work, and working. Right now is a learning experience because people now realize and are more aware that we cannot take anything for granted. I want there to be progress and more balance between men and women with the work and being paid an equal salary.” —Altagracia, Hot Bread Kitchen Workforce Member
“I have changed my family history by resolving to become financially independent since my mom was never allowed to work. Moving to the United States and restarting work was a huge challenge and I am still building up my ground. Standing up for myself and not bowing to patriarchal stereotypes and authority was the decisive moment for me.” —Jonia, Hot Bread Kitchen Workforce Member
“Women are dropping out of the workforce at a greater rate than men are. They’re leaving because what they’re doing doesn’t work for them and they’re not stupid. Women work really hard. They’re leaving because they have other things they need to do. They don’t have flexibility to do it all. We, together, need to fix that.” —Diana Taylor, Hot Bread Kitchen Board Chair
“We need to make better systems with this knowledge and create the support needed so that women, no matter who they are, have better systems in place to get what they want and need to be a part of the workforce. The systems we have are broken, so Hot Bread Kitchen is providing a better system.”
Gail Simmons, Hot Bread Kitchen Board Member, Cookbook Author, and Top Chef Judge
“In the context of mission, there’s a point of view that says if things are structurally broken and systemically unfair, the only valid mission is to work for structural change. In the present moment, I reject that. We live in a world, unfortunately, that is unjust, and what Hot Bread Kitchen does uniquely well is meets women where they are and gives them the tools not just to survive but to thrive in a world that is not benign… and that is, in the long-term, how structural change gets made.” —Emily Susskind, Hot Bread Kitchen Board Member
“If we look back, we’ll be looking at the moment of the pandemic. And it is absolutely, statistically clear that women have suffered more–that women have taken on additional burdens because of their roles in the household. That won’t be something that we will be prideful of in the future when we look back and see. The stories of women who have had to let go of their businesses and resign their jobs because their kids don’t go to school every day–we could talk this entire time just about daycare. So I think there is still a lot to be done to recognize how many roles women play, the inequity of that, and the way the burden falls on women.” —Antonia Bowring, Hot Bread Kitchen Board Member, Founder, AB Strategies
“If the last six months have taught us anything, it’s that evil sentiments exist, and we need people to push for change and top-down systemic adjustments. But in the meantime, we can’t wait for that. We need people at the individual level to push humanity forward–and the way to do that is by helping people break through and thrive forward.” —Jaffer Zaidi, Hot Bread Kitchen Board Member, Managing Director, Business Development, Google
“We need to be able to meet women where they are in terms of helping them—helping us—to be our best, so we are not looked down upon. No woman should feel bad about not being able to pursue an opportunity because she has childcare issues. It should be an equal, level playing field where that’s not even an issue anymore. We are trying to get out of this norm of women’s resiliency and use it not against us but for us.” —Yahshaanyah Hill, Hot Bread Kitchen Partner and Vice President of Workforce Opportunity Investments, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation
“You shouldn’t have to be so strong to survive. Everyone should be afforded opportunities at the same rate, everyone should be able to follow and achieve their dreams. This idea of emotional strength is definitely something that falls more on women, or is expected of us. But it shouldn’t be. It’s just an unfair expectation.” —Michelle Rojas, Hot Bread Kitchen Director of Workforce Programs
“I like the idea that you make a wider river by having a lot of pebbles erode the walls. I do want to think progress occurs through the efforts of hundreds of thousands of women through often-unheralded acts. That conversely makes me worry we’ve taken steps back in the last year. It’s also hundreds of thousands of women who are bearing the burden of staying home or taking a pay cut instead of saying they don’t deserve that.”
Caroline Mak, Hot Bread Kitchen Director of Small Business
“When we see women supporting women as just the role of women, that’s where we come up against these much broader systemic challenges and inequities. It’s not just a personal issue, the idea of supporting women so they can thrive in their many roles–as mothers, workers, community members. We’ve seen very clearly it is a policy issue. The degree to which women are supported or not has huge implications for our economy and how we build shared prosperity.” —Dana Archer-Rosenthal, Hot Bread Kitchen Director of Impact
