Front of the House, Back of the House

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.

Cum navigheaza muncitorii rasa, sexul si clasa in industria serviciilor alimentare. Doua lumi inegale ale muncii exista pe scena restaurantului de lux din Los Angeles. Serverele albe, educate la facultate, functioneaza in partea din fata a casei - cunoscute si sub numele de zonele publice ale restaurantului - in timp ce imigrantii latini fac osteneala in partea din spate a casei si in afara vederii clientilor. House, Eli Revelle Yano Wilson ne arata ce ii tine pe acesti lucratori in afara, explorand inegalitatile de rasa, clasa si gen in industria serviciilor alimentare. Pornind de la cercetari la trei restaurante de ultima generatie din Los Angeles, Wilson subliniaza de ce aceste inegalitati persista in secolul al XXI-lea, indicand angajarea discriminatorie si practicile de supraveghere care ofera in cele din urma accesul albilor educati la pozitiile cele mai dorite.