Happy Women’s History Month! As a female CEO in both the technology space and beverage alcohol industry, I am incredibly proud of this company and its dedication to women in our industries. LibDib’s staff is made up of 45% women. So yay to LibDib and thank you to all the amazing women staffers that contribute to everything we do AND to the men that work with them and support us every step of the way.
It has been widely known (and reported) that the beverage alcohol business, especially at the wholesaler level, has been historically dominated by men. I remember my first WSWA event in 2017. Outside of female models pouring at booths on behalf of suppliers, there were maybe 25 women there. It was a sea of men on the wholesaler side. As a first-timer to the conference, it was very noticeable to me but not something I wasn’t familiar with based on my past experiences working at my family’s winery. As a Maker rep, I dealt with very few women in distributor management. Going out on ride-withs, there were more women represented at the street sales level, but for the most part the sales force was at least 75 % men.
Over the last five years, things have been moving in the right direction when it comes to women in the alcohol industry. WSWA launched the Women’s Leadership Council, which is a great organization educating and empowering future women leaders and executives at the wholesale tier. Deborah Brenner launched Women of the Vines & Spirits, an amazing group that includes all three tiers providing content and support for women in our industry. LibDib is excited to host Deborah next week on the latest episode of our Jump Start Distribution Webinars. A powerhouse female leader, Deborah is launching an amazing B2B marketplace for diverse powered suppliers.
In this upcoming webinar, Deborah will talk about her new platform, a B2B Marketplace for Diverse powered brands. Women owned, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, Veteran, and Disabled owned beverage Makers will have the opportunity to participate and provide details about their company and offerings to some of the top buyers in the world. Those buyers can then purchase through LibDib as the distributor. Click here to join the webinar.
However, there is still more work to be done. Here at LibDib, we will be celebrating our Women Makers all month long. Be sure to check our social media channels and if you are a Buyer, check out our Women’s Month Shopping Tile to learn more about Makers like Volley Tequila Seltzer, Bendt Distilling and Love Cork Screw.
Cheers to women everywhere and Happy Women’s History Month!