Dish: Women, Waitressing & The Art of Service Excerpt (2010)

Excerpt from the documentary Dish: Women, Waitressing & the Art of Service.

There are far more waitresses in the world than waiters. Why is that? Why do longdistance truckers want women to wait on them? By contrast, why are waiters more common in upscale restaurants? Why do Japanese men like playing a game of master and maid with waitresses? And why do some women work at topless places? Director Maya Gallus filmed in numerous restaurants and bars in four countries, and shows the breadth of establishments where the gender aspect of the profession is visible. Her interviewees include the female owner of an American diner and the only two female employees of a top French restaurant. The camera also takes us to a Canadian bar where models serve customers, to strip clubs, and to a Japanese bar where "maids" wear pink aprons. This novel documentary shows how society separates men and women, the roles it assigns them, how this division is reflected in stereotypes and the part gender plays in the labour market.