How Are We Supposed to Thrive?
[trigger warning: this article makes frequent mention of gender-based harassment and sexual assault - please proceed with caution for your own mental health]
The barrage of stories of sexual harassment, sexual violence, gender-based discrimination and prejudice in the beer industry has been unavoidable over the last week or two - Brienne Allan, production manager at Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, has been sharing stories on her Instagram account from people the world over. Now in their thousands, and with an insane amount of coverage in international food and drink publications, the industry has been forced to listen to these stories.
As with Brienne, people have shared their stories with me on Instagram too - I’ve been collating UK-based experiences. Some of the stories told to me were from women who work as bartenders, whose expertise was ignored because the (male) customer didn’t trust that they knew what they were talking about - or even assumed that they were ‘just bartenders’ with no interest in beer. And some stories were heartbreaking tales of harassment, including being groped, cornered and sexual assault.
How are we, as women and non-binary folks, supposed to thrive in a predominantly white male-dominated industry that constantly berates us, expects us to stay quiet, and makes us feel like wenches whose only purpose is to serve men? Women make up more than half of the UK's population and we are still so often subjected to patriarchal, toxic masculinity - and with this in mind, surely this dismissal and ostracism is inevitably going to trickle down to people with other protected characteristics (such as people of colour and LGBTQI+ folks) who take up less space in the beer world.
Unsurprisingly, mistreatment of employees doesn’t just extend to women, either - I’ve had men share their stories too, including one former male employee of a brewery who was groped multiple times, and when he raised his concerns with the owners, they laughed at him. This same employee was also repeatedly subjected to sexualised comments from the male owner of the brewery, and was witness to racist, transphobic and homophobic comments on a regular basis (which were corroborated by other former members of staff).
I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering what can be done to make bars, taprooms and events a safer space for women (and all marginalised folks, for that matter), and how we go from just talking about these issues to actually taking meaningful action. Our industry is one that creates a product; breweries put so much focus on making the best product that they can, but why is the wellbeing of the people who are making it, and the safety of those drinking it, not also centre stage?
Instances of sexual harassment on the job often made me want to quit - or at the very least, made me police my own clothing, my own actions, how long I spent at these events, and who I chose to interact with.
I always like to think I know what I would do if someone harasses me in public. I’d make a scene, alert someone, and fiercely put the harasser in their place. But the reality is that when these things actually happen, all my rational thinking goes out the window. ‘Fight or flight’ mode kicks in and my body decides on ‘flight’ (thanks, anxiety). I freeze, and want to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. And I know many of us feel a desire to just brush it off, so we’re not seen as ‘crazy hysterical women’. But often, when we do speak up, we’re met with statements like “oh lighten up, it was just a bit of fun,” or we are seen as prudish.
The 2020 Crime Survey for England and Wales states that: “fewer than one in six (16%) reported the assault to the police and of those that told someone but not the police, 40% stated embarrassment as a reason, 38% did not think the police could help, and 34% thought it would be humiliating.” In other words, we all know we need to be reporting these assaults, but we are too intimidated to do so - either due to fear of our abuser, fear of testifying, or fear that we won’t be believed. However, when we don’t go to the police there are also consequences - men won’t know that they have done wrong, so we are less able to get to the root of the problem. And, in the paraphrased words of Margaret Atwood, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”
Instances of sexual harassment on the job often made me want to quit - or at the very least, made me police my own clothing, my own actions, how long I spent at these events, and who I chose to interact with. Many, myself included, have spoken out at work about problematic incidences but had our concerns brushed off, either because the incident wasn’t done with malicious intent, or because you can’t report verbal abuse, or because you can’t write up a customer for being flirty. This attitude needs to stop. Unfortunately, I have been privy to multiple tales of toxic workplace culture - especially at one the UKs largest craft beer breweries - that either inspires fear of (potentially illegal) repercussions for speaking up, or that thrive on the ‘lad culture’ or ‘boys club’ vibe of their venues or breweries.
Ultimately, when these assaults happen at work, there should be some kind of intermediary way we can report that we have been victimised. We should be able to trust our employers to have our backs and have proper systems in place, where we can approach them with confidence, raise our concerns or talk about our experiences, have what we are saying taken seriously, and be able to see repercussions. There are already schemes like the Ask for Angela campaign, the Everyone Welcome initiative, and the Work in Progress collective, but I feel like we need more - and I fear that these things have the potential to become purely a ‘tick box exercise’.
Luckily, many of us are using this opportunity to shout about our hurt from the rooftops, and move the conversation out of the ‘craft beer bubble’. Like Charlotte Cook, brewer at Coalition Brewery in London, and Melissa Cole, beer writer, who were on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this week talking about sexism in the beer industry. Charlotte spoke to me about this opportunity: “I thought of Woman’s Hour because they talk about the diverse roles women take on in this world, and they like to discuss matters that you’d not usually think about. Millions of people listen to this show every week, so it’s really a wonderful platform to be given to talk about something that’s affected me so much.”
Industry-wise, in light of all the stories coming out, many breweries and venues in the UK have made public statements, or have pledged to make advancements in their policies to incorporate inclusivity, zero-tolerance of discrimination and harassment, preventative methods, and channels for reporting incidents.
Sarah Moore, General Manager at Edinburgh craft beer bar Salt Horse, spoke to me about all this and said: “We have an absolute zero-tolerance policy to any form of misogynist, racist, homophobic or other bigoted behaviour. We want to be a safe space for everyone, and don't hesitate to chuck people out for being inappropriate. I'm so sick of sexism in the industry, and although I'm the only female member of staff I know the rest of the team are 100% behind this ethos as well. We've recently made our toilets gender-neutral and are constantly striving to make everyone happy and comfortable in our bar.”
Amelie Tassin, Marketing Manager at Campervan Brewery, also told me: “[during staff training, we will be] taking some time with each employee to speak about privilege and bias, and how we must have a zero-tolerance policy when we hear anyone being sexist/racist/transphobic/homophobic etc. I’m also working on a manifesto for all the staff to sign, saying that they are aware they have to be inclusive and respectful in their day to day work.”
And Sarah Sinclair, Marketing and Events Manager at Moonwake Beer commented: “I was heart-warmed by the response from the team at Moonwake - as the only female employee in a team of 4, I shared Brienne’s Instagram account with them and they worked all the way through hundreds of posts. This surprised and pleased me because I didn’t have an expectation that many men would read through them. We’re lucky at Moonwake that we are a brand new company, so we can create supportive policies into the business from day one. We [will be consulting] with an HR expert to create actionable processes to protect staff and customers alike, and most importantly, we want to make sure our spaces are safe and welcoming regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or accessibility needs.”
These statements give me hope for change in the industry which I so dearly love. Hopefully it isn’t all just lip service and virtue signalling. Women, people of colour, LGBTQI+ people, and those with disabilities are marginalised in all areas of life, and this kind of sociopolitical injustice is rife in the beer industry too, as much as we would like to think of it as an inclusive and accepting place. We all need to speak out and be the voices that the industry needs, to promote equality and equity - but just as importantly, men need to come out in solidarity, and reckon with their past participation (whether as perpetrators or bystanders) of predatory behaviour.
