OurWhisky Foundation führte im Juli 2023 die weltweit erste globale Umfrage unter Frauen in der Whiskybranche durch, wie uns die gemeinnützigen Organisation zur Unterstützung von Frauen in der globalen Whiskyindustrie heute in ihrer englischsprachigen Presseaussendung mitteilt. Über 600 Frauen, die Whisky herstellen, verkaufen und bewerben, nahmen an der Umfrage der OurWhisky Foundation teil, einige der Ergebnisse – von uns übersetzt – dieser Untersuchung sind:

• Mehr als 80 % wurden sowohl von Kollegen als auch von Verbrauchern gefragt, ob ihnen die Spirituose überhaupt schmeckt
• 89 % stimmten zu, dass Verbraucher Whisky immer noch weithin als Männergetränk wahrnehmen
• Zwei Drittel der Befragten gaben an, dass dieses Image des Whiskys als Männergetränk ihre Arbeit anspruchsvoller mache, allerdings waren nur 16 % der Meinung, dass die Branche genug unternehme, um diese Wahrnehmung zu ändern
• 87 % waren der Meinung, dass sie am Arbeitsplatz mehr Herausforderungen erleben als ihre männlichen Kollegen. Die drei größten Herausforderungen, mit denen Frauen in der Branche konfrontiert sind, sind unbewusste Voreingenommenheit (84 %), Stereotypisierung (76 %) und mangelnde Repräsentation (54 %). Wenn es um Werbung und Marketing für Whisky geht, waren nur 16 % der Meinung, dass Frauen angemessen vertreten seien, und nur 10 % stimmten zu, dass Frauen in den Medien angemessen vertreten seien.
• Alleine 80 % der Befragten gaben an, in kundenorientierten Positionen zu arbeiten, in denen sie Verkostungen oder Führungen durchführen müssen. 89 % dieser Frauen gaben an, bei einer Verkostung unterbrochen worden zu sein, oder ihr Wissen wurde in Frage gestellt. 83 % haben erlebt, dass Kunden es vorzogen, mit einem männlichen Kollegen zu sprechen.
• 70 % aller Befragten gaben an, bei ihrer Arbeit mit unangemessenen oder sexuelle Bemerkungen konfrontiert worden zu sein, während 33 % unangemessen berührt wurden. Bei denjenigen, die in verbraucherorientierten Positionen arbeiten (z. B. Markenbotschafter, Einzelhandel und Gastgewerbe), stieg diese Zahl auf 44 %.

Hier die komplette englischsprachige Pressemitteilung, mit weiteren Erebnissen der Umfrage ‚Do You Even Like Whisky? The Barriers Holding Back Women in the Industry‘:

SURVEY REVEALS EXTENT OF SEXISM IN THE WHISKY INDUSTRY

A new survey conducted by the OurWhisky Foundation reveals the sobering challenges women face working in the whisky industry.

A survey of over 600 women in the global whisky industry has revealed widespread sexism and bias, with almost half of those in consumer-facing roles reporting inappropriate physical behaviour.

The survey – Do You Even Like Whisky? The Barriers Holding Back Women in the Industry – is the world’s first global survey of women in whisky, conducted in July 2023 by the OurWhisky Foundation, a non-profit supporting women in the global whisky industry.

More than 80% of female respondents making, selling and promoting whisky reported being asked by both colleagues and consumers if they even like the spirit, with a staggering 89% agreeing that consumers still widely perceive whisky to be a man’s drink.

Two-thirds of the survey’s respondents said this masculine reputation makes their jobs more challenging, however just 16% felt that the industry was doing enough to change that perception.

Of the 600 female respondents, who represent a variety of countries and job roles, 87% felt that they experience more challenges in the workplace than their male counterparts.

They cited the top three most significant challenges facing women in the industry as unconscious bias (84%), stereotyping (76%) and a lack of representation (54%).

When it comes to whisky advertising and marketing, just 16% felt women were fairly represented, with only 10% agreeing women are fairly represented by the media.

Unconscious bias and sexual harassment

For the first time, the report demonstrated how this lack of representation and perception of whisky as a ‘man’s drink’ has a real world effect on the lives of women working in the industry.

80% of respondents said they work in consumer facing roles where they’re required to conduct tastings or tours. 89% of those women said they had been spoken over or had their knowledge questioned while conducting a tasting, while 83% have experienced customers preferring to talk to a male colleague.

70% of all respondents said they’d experienced inappropriate or sexual remarks while doing their job, while 33% have been inappropriately touched. This figure rose to 44% among those working in consumer-facing roles (eg brand ambassadors, retail and hospitality).

This isn’t a historic problem either – 27% of consumer-facing women who’ve been working in the industry for less than five years said they’d been inappropriately touched.

Meanwhile, a quarter of those in consumer-facing roles said they’d been asked to change their appearance for their job.

Supporting parents

When it comes to parenthood, 62% of respondents said they were concerned about the impact becoming a parent will have on their career. This answer was most common among women aged 25-30 (70%). However just 39% believed their company’s maternity policies are supportive enough, with 34% unsure what those policies actually are. Furthermore, 41% of mothers did not feel supported when returning to work.

Becky Paskin, founder of the OurWhisky Foundation, said: “Being spoken over, having your knowledge questioned or being asked if you actually like whisky are common occurrences for women working in whisky. These are surface-level yet widespread examples of unconscious bias manifesting as micro-aggressions – the ongoing effect of decades of male-targeted advertising.

“While the industry appears to be taking steps towards inclusion and better representation, this survey clearly shows women feel they aren’t supported enough. It’s important to realise that while it’s perhaps easy to shrug off a solo incident, these micro aggressions build up over time to have a devastating impact on the women in our industry.

“The escalation of these attitudes into inappropriate verbal and physical behaviour cannot be ignored. The industry needs to take this issue extremely seriously.”

Millie Milliken, head of content and the Develop Programmes at the OurWhisky Foundation, said: “The results of this survey dispel any argument that there isn’t a sexism issue in our industry. While ‘it’s not as bad as it used to be’ – an argument often used to dismiss the issue – these issues are very real for women working in whisky right now and there is still a lot of work to be done by businesses to make working in the industry safer for their female employees.

“If you break these percentages down into real-life numbers, the figures are sobering. Luckily, there are tangible solutions that can be implemented by businesses to counteract these issues and actively reduce those numbers. If change is ever going to happen, leaders and decision makers need to sit up and take action – this is something we need to act on now.”

The OurWhisky Foundation has identified several key areas businesses must focus on to tackle sexism in the industry:

• Improve representation of women in advertising and marketing, while avoiding stereotyping
• Implement unconscious bias and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training for all staff, including senior leadership teams
• Implement bystander training and clear anti-harassment policies
• Conduct a company pay audit and encourage pay transparency to ensure fair and equal pay
• Allow flexible working hours and locations for all parents, not just women 

The OurWhisky Foundation will be conducting further in-depth research to gauge the full extent of problems faced by women in the whisky industry.