Happy February CFit Fam,
This year is already one for the books, if any of you know how we can slow this rat race your secret will be safe with me! Each month, I set aside time to update you all, my Catered Fit Family, about what is going on with the company or in my personal life, but this month I think there is something much more important and worth discussing.
Our political landscape is more tumultuous (if not totally insane) than it has ever been. People across our country are drawing dividing lines, Mother Earth appears to be really pissed off about how we have blatantly abused her (for profits of course), foreign governments have taken a strange interest in our social networks, further fanning the flames of misinformation. With all that doom and gloom perhaps the the most important issue for a “Mama’s Boy” like me is the #TIMESUP movement.
While I was fortunate to have positive male influences in my youth, I was primarily raised by a single mother. Throughout my adolescence my mom worked multiple jobs so that my siblings and I could not only always have a healthy meal to eat but also have a fly pair of kicks on our feet. My mom was always on time, the first one to pick up an extra shift, and yet despite her unwavering work ethic or how often she outperformed all of her male coworkers, the “mid-level” ranks were always the ceiling and the bureaucratic boys club that is Corporate America always made sure to remind her of that. My Mom’s no excuses, no nonsense, shut up and perform work ethic was paramount in my growth into a man and a future businessman as it taught me who I wanted to be as a leader.
For all the fellas out there who aren’t embarrassed and disgusted by the growing list of men in power who deliberately chose to abuse their rank and status at the expense of women, you should take a long hard look in the mirror, or better yet dig a hole and jump in! There is no debating women have been paid less to do the same job as their male counterparts. There is no debating corporate America has passed on and passed over skilled women in the workforce for as long as business has been done. There is no debating that our mothers, daughter, sisters, wives, and friends have been undervalued, underutilized and abjectly abused in the workforce while everyone around turned a blind eye. It is reckoning day for countless numbers of men in power who have chosen to objectify women and 2017 was just the tip of the iceberg and I’ve got my pink hat and vegan popcorn ready.
If it were not for strong, savvy, hardworking women there would be no Catered Fit. Since our birth in 2010 women have always held key positions in the company and as the company grows, so do the opportunities for women with Catered Fit. When I first became an employer in 2008, I quickly took notice of how frequently the women in the office outperformed the men. I found that women were often better listeners, more open minded, more adept at thinking outside the box, better problem solvers, and are far less ego driven. While there are exceptions to every rule and while there are still many men in positions of power throughout our company, I believe one of the keys to our brands success has been a byproduct of fully utilizing the skillsets of the women on our team. Executive leadership roles in every major department of our business are held by women. From operations, research & development, culinary, marketing and even technology, we have strong empowered females leading each department, and several of these ladies were also made partners and shareholders in 2017. You go girls!
In the end, businesses are typically graded by the profits they generate, but for Catered Fit it is much more. We stand to take strides in closing the pay gap and providing equal opportunity for women. Empowering women has undoubtedly made Catered Fit substantially more profitable and I can only hope my male counterparts are taking note (if not CF will gladly employ them all 😊).
Health is Wealth,
Adam Friden / CEO