Every year, International Women’s Day arrives with the same conversations. We celebrate progress, share stories of resilience, and highlight inspiring women across the drinks and hospitality industry. And those moments matter. But they also raise a difficult question.
Are we actually moving forward?
In many ways, it feels like the industry had more visible female representation a few years ago than it does today. That might sound surprising in an era where diversity is discussed more openly than ever, but visibility and conversation are not the same thing as structural change.
It is rarely exclusion by design, but over time those same familiar networks shape who becomes visible.
Look at the stages at industry events. Speaker line-ups still too often skew heavily male, and many times there are all-male panels. It’s rarely intentional, but that doesn’t make the outcome any less problematic. When stages look the same year after year, the message is clear about who is seen as the authority in our industry. And when women are missing from those conversations, it also means fewer visible role models for the next generation.
Part of the reason this happens is human nature. Opportunities often move through existing networks. When organisers are looking for speakers, guest bartenders, or contributors, they tend to reach out to people they already know, trust, and have worked with before. It is rarely exclusion by design, but over time those same familiar networks shape who becomes visible.
The competition sphere shows a similar pattern. Participation, juries and finals lists remain unbalanced. Yes, you may see a woman or two in the final line-ups, but representation is still not reflective of the talent coming through. What we need are clearer pathways, mentorship and intentional encouragement so more women enter and stay in the competitive scene. This would have the flow on effect of increasing the pool of women entering in future years.
In spirits categories still seen as “male”, like whisky, women face extra scrutiny. Their expertise is more often questioned, their results held to a different standard. That is on the industry’s traditions and assumptions, not on the individuals themselves. It’s a bias we acknowledge, but have yet to systematically uproot.
There is also a practical layer to this conversation that the industry doesn’t always acknowledge openly. Brands, events and media often look for individuals with influence and reach. From a commercial perspective, that makes sense. The more visible someone already is, the easier it is to justify putting them on a stage or behind a bar for a guest shift.
But that creates something of a chicken-and-egg situation. If visibility and reach are the criteria for opportunities, then the question becomes how people build that visibility in the first place.
Perhaps the answer lies earlier in the journey. If brands, venues and mentors make a conscious effort to invest in women and women+ professionals earlier in their careers, supporting them through education, media exposure, competitions and mentorship, then those individuals have the chance to build their networks, their influence and their confidence over time. When the bigger opportunities arise later, the pool of people ready for them becomes much wider.
Hospitality media also plays a role here. Last year I wrote about how the stories we tell shape the industry we see. When the same names appear again and again, even with the best intentions, it can narrow the perception of who is contributing to our industry. Expanding the voices we feature is not about tokenism. It is about reflecting the breadth of talent that already exists.
Here’s where male allies can make a real difference: by intentionally broadening those networks, nominating new voices, and sharing the stage rather than dominating it.
We also need to rethink how women appear in these conversations at all. Too often women in hospitality are asked primarily to speak about being women in hospitality. Of course those experiences matter. But women should also be part of the broader industry discussions about spirits, training, business, sustainability, cocktail development and leadership. The work itself should be the focus, just as it is for men.
Visibility is not just a nice gesture. It shapes perceptions, creates opportunities, and signals that the industry truly values diverse contributions. If representation continues to revolve around the same familiar few, we risk mistaking that familiarity for progress.
International Women’s Day is an important moment to celebrate the progress we have made. But it is also a chance to look at the structures that quietly shape opportunity in our industry. If we want representation to grow, the circle of visibility has to widen too.
We know the talent is there. Now we must make sure the industry sees it, hears it, and makes room for it.
