Gender equality beyond International Women’s Day

7 Mar

International Women’s Day is an occasion increasingly used by brands to recognise and celebrate the women working within their industry, but how are they supporting their female staff across the other 364 days of the year?

Every 8 March our Instagram and Facebook feeds are filled with whisky brands celebrating the women working within their organisations. But as OurWhisky’s social media report shows, few continue to even feature women in their marketing the rest of the year.

While International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women around the world, it also marks a call to action for companies and individuals to raise awareness of and accelerate gender equality.

So what are whisky companies doing the rest of the year to support women in their industry? After all, these issues exist beyond a single day in the calendar.

From equality programmes and women-only internships, to supporting charities for women and parental support, here are some of the initiatives five forward-thinking whisky producers are implementing year-round.

Nc’Nean

The UK’s first net zero carbon whisky distillery is relaunching its week-long internship programme this International Women’s Day. It’s mission? To encourage more women to consider roles within the whisky industry. Annabel Thomas, the brand’s CEO and founder, wants to build on the programme Nc’nean ran in 2019 which saw two women spend a week at the distillery on the west coast of Scotland. The internship is a chance to experience all parts of a working whisky distillery, from fermentation and distillation to blending. There is also access to sales and marketing mentorship once the week is over if candidates are keen to find out more about that part of the business too.

Glenmorangie

Behind the scenes of The Glenmorangie Company is an impressive network of initiatives that not only support women but help their staff support them too. As well as unconscious bias training, a series to share career stories and discuss breaking the glass ceiling, this year the company will be introducing a global allyship programme which will include webinars, training, awareness sessions and comms. Other initiatives include carer and dependant paid leave, annual gender pay gap analysis and equal parental leave, all designed to remove discrimination against gender, sexual orientation, and mothers.

MAKER’S MARK

The existence of Maker’s Mark whiskey would not have been possible without co-founder Margie Samuels, the first woman to be inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. Supporting women is something that the brand and UK ambassador Nicole Sykes are passionate about progressing year on year. Following on from last year’s partnership, Maker’s Mark will again be raising money for Women’s Aid on International Women’s Day and through its activations throughout the year. It will also be sponsoring Celebrate Her, a new charity which aims to ‘promote equality within hospitality through education, connections and community’. Outside of the UK, the Bourbon brand also supports the LEE Initiative (a hospitality relief programme) with a yearly release of limited whisky called CommUNITY Batch.

BROWN-FORMAN

With brands like Benriach, Woodford Reserve, Slane Irish Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s in its portfolio, Brown-Forman is incredibly influential when it comes to leading by example. Enter GROW (growing remarkable and outstanding women), its initiative that provides tools and education – alongside a Championship Programme – to support and bring women into its organisation. By 2030 it hopes to grow women in leadership roles to 40%.

ARCHIE ROSE

Sydney’s Archie Rose distillery uses the ‘journal’ segment of its website throughout the year to showcase diversity and publish women-centric stories. Each piece is written by a different Archie Rose team member, from head of hospitality, Harriet Leigh, and digital and social media editor, Natalie Mell, to master distiller, Dave Withers. Articles include interviews with bartender Paige Aubort about her not-for-profit Coleman’s Academy, which promotes women in hospitality; spotlights on its distiller Lisa Truscott and blenders Silvia Segato and Evelyn Long; and women throughout history who have inspired them. It also supports ActionAid, an NGO that supports women living in poverty with rapid funding.

Do you know of or work for a brand with year-round initiatives supporting women in whisky? If so, email us at info@ourwhiskyfoundation.org.