Whenever Charlotte Stevens questions why there aren't more women working at hospitality venues in Canberra, she always gets the same response from owners and managers.
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"They say, 'I'd hire them but I don't know where to find them'," Stevens said.
Stevens wanted to show that not only did they exist, but they were some of the most talented people in the industry.
Inspired by similar groups in Sydney and Melbourne, she has launched Tusk, a project with a series of events to "let women in hospitality shine".
The first Tusk event is a dinner takeover at Bar Rochford, where Stevens works as a cocktail bartender, raising money for White Ribbon.
Stevens has pulled together a talented all-female crew from all over Canberra to run the night, with six bartenders, three chefs and six staff running the floor. The venue's menu has been completely written for the night by head chef Laura Dale from Akiba. For the after party, a female DJ will hit the decks, and even the wall art will predominantly be replaced with creations by Canberra female artists.
"There's a real shortage of women in high end hospitality - there are very few compared to the men. I'm putting on this event to showcase that we are around," Stevens said.
"With my first event I'm making a stand about women in the industry so that's why it's entirely taken over by women, run by women, done by women. With further events, I want to include men in the running and organising of the event, but it will never be more than 50 per cent men."
"The idea isn't to exclude men, I don't want it to be an event where men feel like they're marginalised. I want it to express reaching equality."
Stevens has plans for more venue takeovers, and also training events for female hospitality workers and networking sessions.
"I really want Tusk to become a platform where women from cheffing, bartending, music, the arts and coffee can get together and talk and share and mentor and learn from each other's experiences, and really make it a bit more interconnected," she said.
"We have a lot of women in this town but we're all separated so I really would like to try and tie it all together."
The Tusk Bar Rochford takeover is on Sunday April 30. Tickets are $80 for four courses, drinks not included, and all proceeds go to White Ribbon. There's sittings at 6pm and 8.30pm. Bookings at tuskcollaborative.com/whatson/. From 10pm, there will be a DJ and after party with a $5 cover charge, no booking required.
