Supporting Women In Beer – A Message From Our CEO
As a fellow woman in beer, I’d be lying if I said I was surprised by the wave of allegations that have been coming to light since early May when Brienne Allan (aka @ratmagnet) gave many women a long overdue outlet to share their stories of workplace discrimination, allegations of harassment and assault in the industry. The stories that have been shared so far are nothing short of heartbreaking. While I’ve never experienced the level of discrimination, harassment and assault these brave ladies have during their time working in this industry, I have definitely experienced a few things over my time covering this industry that have definitely made me feel like the beer industry was a bit of a boys club. That’s a large reason why, when starting Hoplight Social almost five years ago, it was really important to me to have a section that was dedicated to spotlighting the amazing women in this industry regardless of their role. I’m really proud to say that a majority of the people featured in our People In Beer section are women. But, I know that is not enough.
During my childhood, I was sexually and emotionally abused. As a survivor of sexual and emotional abuse myself, I’ve been struggling to come up with the right words to say during this time. Every time I’ve sat down to write this, I’ve been shutting down because there just are no words. This shouldn’t still be happening at the levels that it is. While it’s been great to see some breweries taking accountability and others taking strong stances, there is still a long way to go. Words are not enough and I have to wonder if some of those same breweries have looked the other way in the past and/or made women feel like they are less valuable than a man. We ALL need to hold them more accountable and we need to continue to bring these stories to life so that they are not buried again. Beyond just bringing the negative to light, we need to continue to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of women in this industry.
With that said, I’m going to continue to give women in beer a safe place to feel seen, valued, and heard. If you or someone you know would love to be featured on our website, please send me an email at kristina@hoplightsocial.com and we’ll continue this fight together. Enough is enough.
Cheers,
Kristina P.
Check out the Pink Boots Society’s WEBSITE to learn more about this amazing organization & stay up to date with how they are continuing to support women in beer. Be sure to also check out their social media platforms as well:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM (@PINKBOOTSSOCIETY)
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