Female Founders

It’s fair to say in recent years, several drinks companies have made clumsy attempts to ‘celebrate’ IWD. Without substantial action to tackle the inequalities the day annually reveals, highlighting the day with glib marketing campaigns seems depressingly disheartening. For example, any bar that simply names a cocktail, oh I don’t know, the Emmeline Pankhurst, should have to immediately erect a billboard with some sobering statistics on, right above their bars.

Where are they now?

In recent years, the annual ‘celebrations’ have got a little better and a little more useful, for example with cocktails that highlight female talent within the industry. Which is much better. Past initiatives such as ‘Choose to Challenge’ carry a little more weight. The event from the ‘Celebrate Her’ initiative aimed to “elevate women in hospitality”, with financial support and career development opportunities, challenging people to call out gender bias and inequality within hospitality.

PROGRESS ACROSS THE INDUSTRY?

But how is the drinks industry doing as a whole?

According to a survey from Deloitte, a lack of diversity, equity and inclusion is the number-one issue identified by women that prevents them from considering a career in the beverage alcohol industry. Women surveyed believe visibility of key leaders who serve as role models and mentorship/ sponsorship programs help develop a diverse workforce. And at the moment, those are lacking. And according to GlobalData, around 73% of

UK-based drinks companies currently pay male employees more than female ones; men’s median hourly pay in 2021-22 was 4% higher than women’s. Which in fairness is better than the UK’s pay gap average, which sees men paid 11.6% more. It’s the small things, you know. Even so, that pay gap reflects the fact that only 27.4% of the top-paying jobs in the drinks industry are currently occupied by women. Let that sink in.