By Noah Parks

In hospitality, it’s common to put the strength of a recipe against another and feel some kind of way about which one is better, or even the best.  No matter what it started with a nonna or an auntie or a grandma that passed it down.  Some matriarch who made sure everyone had enough and that all the cousins that were “growing boys” had a little extra dessert.  There’s always a woman at the center of the story of hospitality.  Not in the outdated, patriarchal sense of cooking and cleaning, oh no, there’s a creator at the center of our hospitality universe.  Someone with the spark of inspiration to do something bigger and better, maybe even the best that anything has ever been done.  Led by the vision of Karen DiPeri, our President, HMG Plus is ensuring that every event and service reflects the expertise of women in leadership.  

At HMG+ we’re more than just a staffing agency, we’re providing New York City with woman leaders at every level of service.  Hospitality staffing is a place where HMG+ seeks to level the playing field offering equal pay for equal work.  We have a majority of woman staff with leaders in the roles of Service Professional, Captain, Bartenders, and Corporate leaders like Amanda Beni our Vice President.  This representation is powerful to our community and the clients that hire us.  They know that when women lead, everyone succeeds.  

According to Forbes, women make better leaders because they have a whole host of better leadership traits and skills: “humility, self-awareness, self-control, moral sensitivity, social skills, emotional intelligence, kindness, a prosocial and moral orientation, are all more likely to be found in women than men.” Due to this powerful combination, HMG+ is able to round out our hospitality staffing with effective women in leadership roles across the company.  As a man, I often was looking up to women or looking to women for guidance on all kinds of fronts from school, dating, or for a random band-aid.  It never occurred to me that they were being leaders in those moments.  We often think of someone that gives good advice or has the resources we need in an emergency as “support”. This is completely wrong.  Leaders know the way, have prepared for contingencies, and can think clearly in emotionally heightened moments.  

In the past two years Karen DiPeri has lead us with empathy and clear vision.  Working with her husband Michael DiPeri and our corporate team, she knows how to move the ball forward in the New York staffing space. She has been a member of Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses, is an active member of New York State Hospitality Association, and has been a mentor to the young women in hospitality that have worked for HMG+.  The most recent mentee to rocket to success is our own Vice President, Amanda Beni.  She went from testing Olive Oils two offices away to securing huge partnerships with our biggest clients at HMG+.  It’s with poise and professionalism that the women of HMG+ lead like Beyonce, knowing that indeed “Girls run the world.”

For this entire month it’s important to remember the glass ceilings that have been broken and all the important work yet to be done.  There’s so much to be celebrated and be inspired by.  We never rest on our laurels at HMG+ because the next event or service is just 24 hours away.  Which is why we look to leaders like Karen DiPeri and Amanda Beni.  We look to them for their clear eyed decision making skills, ability to bring people together, and willingness to do what’s right rather than what’s easy.  I hope we all take some time to reflect on the women who are leaders in our lives.  How have they influenced us and we never knew it?  If you want to join a growing community of women leaders then HMG+ is waiting for you.  Visit us today to experience all the fruit that women run businesses can bear!