It’s odd how women have historically been confined to the house and the kitchen, and yet the professional kitchen is a male dominated industry.

Think about celebrity chefs for example. The majority are male and those who aren’t are considered more as house-wives filling some spare time, rather than serious industry leaders (sorry, Nigella).

Delia Smith and Nigella are filmed in what is supposed to look like their houses, while the likes of Gordon Ramsey and Marco Pierre White are filmed inside a bustling working kitchen.

When a woman cooks it is a hobby and when a man cooks it is a career – this seems unfair.

These stereotypes overlap into our profession as chefs, meaning that only 19% of chefs working in the hotel & restaurant sector are female.

According to surveys women in the kitchen earn 28% less than men on average, making the sector much worse than the national average pay gap of 18%

Life is harder as a female chef, and although we’ve come a long way over the past 100 years, there’s still a way to go.

So what should we do about it?

While some of the movements require a high level of activism, there are everyday things that we as chefs can do to show our support.

• Recognise that inequality is an issue. As a man I realise and actively think about how the path from sous-chef to head chef is a lot harder for a woman. By recognising the issue we can seek to overcome its normalisation in society.

• Try and judge colleagues on their skill set rather than gender. It’s true that we treat the opposite sex in a slightly different manner than we do our own. Make sure that this manner is not in reality a prejudice or discrimination.

And don’t forget to have hope! Female chefs are starting to be recognised as real industry leaders and pioneers.

Ana Ros was recently awarded the world’s best female chef 2017 for her work at the Hisa Franko restaurant in Kobarid, Slovenia.

More locally in London we spoke to chef proprietor Sam Clark who co-runs the restaurants Morito and Moro with her husband.

Sam’s story is one of hard work but also how she was lucky enough to bypass gender issues by working in the right place.

Before the Mor’s Sam worked in Hammersmith at the River Café, which was run by the brilliant due Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray.

Run by two women, the River Café was always a fair place to work.

“I then opened my own place with my husband and as the owner I had respect and authority in the restaurant,” she continued.

“Moving forward to when Moro opened we employ a good balance of males and females.”

“Sometimes I feel we need to employ more blokes!”

“In reality, it varies from restaurant to restaurant, some are old school and it still goes on.”

Sam tells a story of when her and her head chef Marianna Leivaditaki went abroad to an industry conference, and were met with rudeness and immaturity from the other all-male teams.

Still, she wasn’t phased.

“It has been improving and thankfully more and more female chefs are at the helm.”

Another cause to celebrate is the Woman Chefs and Restaurateurs organisation (WCR) in America.

Kind of like a female chef union, you can go to the WCR to receive support and services.

In their own words: “WCR advances the careers of women across the culinary industry through education, promotion, connection and inspiration”.

As of yet, there is no such association in the U.K. and perhaps there should be!

One thing’s for sure; the kitchen is not a woman’s world, but neither should it be a man’s.