Quenching European beer ladies’ thirst for a Pink Boots Society
Two-thirds of us at Kaeru Beer are female. So organisations representing ladies working in beer interest us. We applaud any inclusive venture that educates, promotes and raises awareness about what we do. Whether brewer, writer, hospitality expert, or any other industry role—we need a voice.
The Pink Boots Society demonstrates widespread uptake of this cause. But, at present it operates most in the USA and Canada. Active local chapters also exist in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Peru and Chile.
European activity appears limited to Spain, which is a shame considering our numbers. We’re keen that The Pink Boots Society involves us all us, wherever we call home. Ladies do form large parts of the beer and ancillary industries across most of Europe. For example: many of us in the Netherlands tirelessly work to develop our growing beer scene.
The Pink Boots Society would receive a warm welcome if it expanded its catchment. And by opening membership to us all, it could be a true representative global voice for beer ladies.
March 8 was International Women’s Day 2018. And many industries are proactive in pushing for further, widespread female inclusion. The Hollywood movie industry, for example. We must close pay disparity and elitism gaps.
Beer ladies play a valuable role too. So now is the ideal time for us to have our own Pink Boots Society wherever we are in the world. We love beer, we love brewing, we love the beer industry; why are we sidestepped?
Excluding people based on gender, race or any other spurious, abstract reason is discrimination. Beer is not an exclusive male domain in 2018, nor has it been for many years.
As beer ladies we must raise our voice: shout from breweries, from brewpubs and taprooms, from pages, and from the periphery. Shout loudly.
We were witness to beer industry ladies’ representation at the Barcelona Beer Festival. The movement there is gaining traction. But in our own lands (Netherlands, Japan and other regions) we’re somewhat unrepresented.
Wikipedia states The Pink Boots Society has 1,800 female members. That is only a small percent of our true global numbers.
We’re based in Haarlem, where 350 years ago 20% of all brewers were female. All thanks to a city that shunned male-dominated guilds that excluded lady brewers. This motivation drives determined interest to increase our representation to realistic levels today.
Let’s bring one or more new chapters of The Pink Boots Society closer to home, ladies. There’s more to ladies in beer than the so-called Alewives of yore.
== The Kaeru Beer ladies ==
[Original article written in March 2018]