Women in this industry especially face a multitude of obstacles, such as career progression, unsafe working hours and gender bias, to name a few. With current political climates around the world continuing to strip back the rights of women, it’s crucial now more than ever to create change in the industry and continue to bring awareness to the issues women face.
In honour of International Women’s Day, Eleanor Yates has rounded up some of the organisations fighting for change and taking steps to champion the women of hospitality.
Speed Rack
Ivy Mix, US
Speed Rack, the world’s first and only international all-women and femme bartending competition, was founded in 2011 by spirits industry veterans Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix. Speed Rack came together after Mix brought her concept of an all-female speed bartending competition to Marrero, the then president of the NY chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails – an organisation that promotes women in the spirits industry while raising funds for local and national charities).
The competition aims to highlight leading female-identifying bartenders across the globe, with 100% of proceeds going directly to breast cancer education, prevention and research. To date, Speed Rack has hosted more than 115 events in over nine countries, welcoming over 2,000 competitors, 3,000 volunteers, and 32,000 attendees. In April 2024, the team co-authored A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails with writer Megan Krigbaum, a compendium of recipes and industry wisdom from 80 Speed Rack alumni and friends.
The organisation has raised over $1.75m in the fight against breast cancer since inception, with a goal of breaking $2m during season 13.
As it moves into its 13th season, Speed Rack remains the only competition of its kind, filling a void for community building among female-identifying members of the bartending industry.
Another Round Another Rally
Amanda Gunderson, US
Another Round Another Rally (ARAR) is a nonprofit financial and educational resource for the hospitality industry. It provides reimbursement grants and immersive educational scholarships to further the education of historically excluded voices in the community, and supplies emergency assistance to those employed in restaurants, bars and hotels who have fallen on unexpected hardship. ARAR was founded by Amanda Gunderson and Travis Nass and aims to give current and future leaders access to the tools they need to create dynamic workplaces where equity and inclusion allow marginalised populations to thrive.
ARAR is also in the process of launching six educational programmes. The organisation recently did Casa Jacaranda, in which it took six bartenders to Mexico City for a three-day culinary and cultural exploration.
It also offers education in whiskey, rum and agave spirits in partnerships with Campari, including Behind the Barrel, The Dr Joy Spence Fellowship Program and the Noche De Lobos experience.
In spring ARAR is launching a Spanish language version of its women and nonbinary-focused mentorship programme called Skylight.
Thirsty Community
Tara Fougner, US
Based in the US, while covering the global industry, Thirsty Community is an industry and community-led platform that shares news and highlights people in the industry. The platform has a focus on marginalised and underrepresented voices such as women, BIPOC, queer and more, helping anyone who “would benefit from DEI, which is rapidly getting dismantled and banned in the US”, says co-founder and chief executive of Thirsty Media, Tara Fougner. An advocate for the industry, Fougner is a proud Puerto Rican, using her platform to empower, encourage and amplify historically excluded voices in the industry.
Fougner has repeatedly featured in Bar World 100 and was honoured on the inaugural Future 40 List (formerly 40 Under 40). In 2023, she was honoured as a Tales Catalyst.
Native Americans in Drinks
Chockie Tom, US
Co-founded by Chockie Tom, the Native Americans in Drinks organisation is a matriarch-led initiative dedicated to Indigenous visibility, community building, and industry accountability. As Tom says: “You can’t co-found a community that has always existed – but you can build it bigger.”
Tom is an Indigenous bartender turned advocate and educator and is celebrated for her significant contributions and advocacy work in promoting cultural empowerment and sustainability within the bar industry. The organisation’s mission is not about seeking a seat at the table, says Tom, it’s about reminding the industry whose land it stands on and honouring the Indigenous people who have shaped the drinks industry, from botanical knowledge and fermentation to sustainable practices that predate modern bars.
A major initiative for 2025 is the launch of a dedicated website and database that will serve as a resource for connecting with Indigenous professionals, brands, and ethical sourcing guidance.
The Ada Coleman Project
Kaitlin Wilkes, UK
The Ada Coleman Project is dedicated to empowering women+ in the drinks industry through education, collaboration and community. By spotlighting pioneering women+ from around the world, the project fosters a supportive environment where women can thrive, innovate, and lead. It was founded by Kaitlin Wilkes and Kristine Bocchino. Wilkes is a brand consultant, trade advocacy specialist, bartender and was recently featured at No.78 in Bar World 100, and Bocchino is currently head of global business development for Singapore-based bar and brand consultancy The Compound Collective.
One of the key features of the Ada Coleman Project is its rotating global database of accomplished women and non-binary people in the drinks industry. The database has been designed to serve as a crucial tool for event organisers, competition hosts, bar show organisers and establishments looking to diversify their panel of guest speakers, masterclass hosts, competition judges and guest bartenders. The project is currently updating the database to add another 80 women+ from around the globe, along with adding more resources to the website, such as batching tools, menu pricing tools and info sheets, to name a few.
The project’s namesake, Ada Coleman, was the first woman head bartender of the Savoy Hotel in London and became an inspiration for women in the industry.
Our Whisky Foundation
Becky Paskin, UK
The Our Whisky Foundation is dedicated to supporting, recognising and empowering professional women in whisky across the globe, while advocating for a more inclusive and diverse industry. Founded in 2022 by drinks journalist Becky Paskin, the UK-based organisation works with the global drinks industry to provide diversity and inclusion consultancy, as well as surveys, reports, events and initiatives that inspire change.
Its mentorship programme, which has recently been reimagined as the Atonia Programme, pairs mentees with some of the biggest names in whisky while providing free workshops and networking opportunities, has so far guided 200 women and non-binary individuals toward reaching their goals, with many securing new jobs and promotions as a result.
In 2023 the Foundation introduced the Modern Face of Whisky stock image library, an evolving, free-to-use collection of professional photography enabling the media and wider industry to more accurately represent the diversity of today’s whisky drinker beyond the masculine stereotype. In the same year, the foundation surveyed over 600 women for its Do You Even Like Whisky? report – the world’s first survey of women in whisky, which revealed the extent of sexism and unconscious bias prevalent in the industry.
The report has since led to policy changes within many whisky organisations.
Curious Vines
Queena Wong, UK
Curious Vines, led by Queena Wong, is a supportive community of women and non-binary people in the UK wine industry that cultivates connectivity. Its objective to improve wine industry gender diversity has a two-pronged approach: first, by the provision of a community where women feel safe, seen and supported; and second, by providing education and development initiatives for career advancement. Wong is a wine collector helping to build a new world of wine for all. She advocates for conscious inclusion and equal opportunity, ensuring that every person can confidently pursue wine as a passion, either as a consumer or as a career.
Curious Vines recently launched The Spotlight, a new quarterly initiative to bring visibility to Curious Vines members. Wong says: “In response to our UK Women in Wine Survey 2023, where 49% of respondents said they wanted to see more coverage of women in the industry, we are proud to launch our new Curious Vines Spotlight series.” Each quarter, two Spotlights will be showcased who will each then nominate another person to be interviewed, either someone of experience or a rising star.
Be Inclusive Hospitality
Lorraine Copes, UK
Be Inclusive Hospitality is a not-for-profit with the mission to build a thriving community to accelerate race equity within hospitality, food and drink. BIH was founded in 2020 by Lorraine Copes, an advocate and champion of change in the hospitality industry and an industry veteran with over 20 years experience.
The organisation has recently launched its Careers in Hospitality: Removing Barriers to Progression report, providing a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by ethnically diverse employees in the hospitality industry. The report draws on three years of Inside Hospitality survey data, along with newly conducted focus groups and interviews, to offer vital insights into industry perceptions, pay disparities, career barriers, and lived experiences. Over the past three years, Be Inclusive Hospitality’s Inside Hospitality surveys have gathered more than 4,000 responses from employees across the UK, representing a diverse range of backgrounds and career levels.
Be Inclusive Hospitality also has an Inclusion & Cultural Calendar, highlighting a host of significant dates throughout the year.
Mix Haus
Shirley Yeung, Australia
Mix Haus was founded by Shirley Yeung and Pippa Canavan in Perth, Western Australia in 2020. The idea came from the desire to grow in an industry that lacked support and representation for women. Mix Haus’ core mission is to create an inclusive and safe platform to support its community of women in hospitality through education, training, networking and workshops, with an aim to sustain and create more opportunities for women to conquer in the industry.
In 2025, Mix Haus will be expanding into Victoria as it has successfully done in Queensland (QLD) and Western Australia (WA). For International Women’s Day QLD, Mix Haus will partner with Herradura Tequila, offering two WSET Spirits Level 2 scholarships as well as 10 WSET Wine Level 1 scholarships.
Women Leading Rum
Larissa Arjona, Panama
Women Leading Rum is an exclusive platform, part of The Rum Lab, which recognises women involved in the rum industry and establishes connections between them, regardless of their position in the industry. The initiative is an educational and professional exchange where women are able to support each other through executive training, workshops and mentoring to enhance the value that each of them brings to the world of rum.
WLR’s agenda follows the pillars of quality education, reduced inequalities, decent work and economic growth and partnerships for the goals. The organisation is led by Larissa Arjona, who holds the role of president. With a background in law, Arjona is also the international marketing manager of Abuelo rum and has recently graduated as a Ronmelier.
As the organisation grows, WLR will soon expand to include women in spirits, recognising the work of women who operate in the field around the globe. Arjona says WLR is “not only about women in rum, it’s about women in every category so we are very proud of this next step”.
Mapa de Barmaids & Afines
Laura Marajofsky, Argentina
Mapa de Barmaids & Afines is a platform recognising and empowering women in the hospitality industry in Latin America. It is a nonprofit based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, mapping women and LGBTQIA+ professionals in different countries. Mapa works in three areas within the hospitality sector: gender, health and education. Since 2018, founded by journalist Laura Marajofsky, Mapa has conducted trainings to prevent sexual harassment and other forms of abuse in the food and beverage industry, working in both the public and private sectors throughout Argentina and LATAM.
Mapa’s local network currently has almost 800 women mapped throughout the country, and more than 1,500 regionally. The organisation also carries out surveys on gender violence, equity and precarity in the sector, such as its report titled The B-side of Hospitality: Sexism and Precarity in the Culinary Sector (Argentina-Chile-Mexico)’ by the Gender & Health Observatory of the Mapa de Barmaids & Afines.
This year will see the extension of its gender report, with Mapa looking for support from industry players, along with a book project (details TBC).
Asia’s Women in Bartending
Holly Graham, Asia
Asia’s Women in Bartending is produced by author, bar owner and journalist Holly Graham and published by Drink Magazine Asia, and is an ever-growing list of women working in Asia’s alcohol industry. The resource is designed to help tackle the lack of female representation and was first created in March 2019. “As a fellow woman working in the alcohol industry, I hope to see it continue to grow, evolve and serve as a valuable resource to our community,” Graham says in the report.
To be featured on the list email holly@drinkmagazine.asia stating your full name, current position, venue and location. Entries must be based in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Korea, Indonesia, Myanmar, India or Laos and working in the alcohol industry, inclusive of bartenders, bar owners, bar floor staff, distributors, writers, journalists, brand reps/ambassadors, sommeliers, brewers and distillers etc. The resource also features a Facebook community for women in the industry called Asia Women in Booze.
