When it comes to the brewing industry, time and again we hear about how much of a ‘boys club’ it is. The glass ceiling that women traditionally face in career progression seems to be even more prominent there. According to research by Women in Craft Beer, only 29% of staff working in breweries are female, approximately 17% of craft breweries have a female CEO and only 4% of breweries have a female head brewer. Yet, in 2014, women consumed 32% of craft beer (Brewers Association) and this number is likely to have gone up in the 5 years since. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that gender representation is a bit off…
However, last summer, a bottle (empty of course, no beer was wasted) was thrown at the industry’s glass ceiling creating a significant crack; the bottle came from the drinks giant Heineken.
On June 5th of last year, Heineken USA appointed Maggie Timoney as the new CEO, taking over from Ronald den Elzen who has relocated to the company’s headquarters in the Netherlands. Previously acting as the CEO of Heineken Ireland, her ability to over-deliver on ‘volume, revenue, profit and market share targets while accomplishing year over year increases on employee engagement‘ (Brew Bound) saw her secure the promotion. Having started on 1st September 2018, Timoney is the first female CEO of a major US beer supplier, but she is no stranger to the American HQ, having joined the Heineken USA family as a national sales planner back in 1998.
As a company, Heineken actually does pretty well when it comes to females in high-ranking positions. As well as Timoney, their executive management team is made up of 50% women: Tara Rush is the company’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Jessica Schilling is the Chief People Officer and Julie Kinch is their Chief Legal Counsel (AdWeek). In comparison to the drinks giant Ab InBev, who have a solely male 18-member management team (AdAge), Heineken is ahead of the game. It makes sense to hire women as otherwise breweries are missing out on half of the world’s talent. More importantly, however, is the fact that as the volume of beer drunk by women increases, it would be foolish not to have some of them in the top level.
Despite the media storm that followed this appointment, Timoney wanted to make it crystal clear that she was asked to take on the job not because of her sex, but because of her skill: “I’ll be judged on my results, not on whether I’m male or female” (Brew Bound). This is a really important point to make.
Nevertheless, Heineken’s promotion of Timoney is definitely a step in the right direction, and given her track record, she will surely serve to demonstrate that women can be just as effective leaders as men. If you believe that Heineken are doing the right thing, then why not support them? Yes, you could go out and buy a few crates of their beer, but unfortunately that will likely result in a pounding headache the next morning. An alternative channel of support — which could benefit your piggy bank rather than creating a boozy dent — could be investing in them. Tumelo’s app gives you the ability to invest in the stock market into public companies, such as Heineken, that align with your values, such as gender equality. You may be put off by the word ‘investment’, but don’t be; Tumelo will be there to advise you the whole way and show you just how easy and fun investing can be! But don’t take our word for it, visit www.tumelo.com and join us on our adventure.
