Massive disconnect between women and wine world's overwhelmingly male gatekeepers, says Monika Elling

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 20 June, 2016

Speaking to Harpers in the wake of Guy Woodward's column berating the wine trade for its lack of women in visible front line roles, Monika Elling, CEO of Foundations Marketing Group in New York City, argues that the imbalance of the sexes goes far deeper, to the serious detriment of the trade on both sides of The Pond.

"I've been in the business some time and experienced it from several angles, and in the US specifically, where women buy over 70% of the total wine sold, the people that are gatekeepers are 99.9% men, so there in itself lies a massive disconnect," says Elling.

"Wineries and winemaking are one component where women are more visible, occupying significant roles, along with sommeliers, but by and large these are not positions that command the serious power," continues Elling.

"Distribution is the core of it all. It's worth billions and billions of dollars but there is a serious lack of women in top management and leadership roles. Look at the top 10 US distributors, how many are run by women?"

Elling leaves the question hanging in a way that doesn't invite too many investigative powers to ascertain the answer, while pushing home the disadvantages that this imbalance of power and representation delivers in a world where 50% of the population is female.

"Women are simply woefully missing at top of that sector where the power is concentrated, with the leading US distributor controlling about US$15 billion in annual revenue, and the next at around US$10 billion," she continues.

"And distribution impacts on all aspects of the trade - which is why, although articles on women somms are well received by women in the trade, [it hides the fact that] there are still a lack of higher roles for those women."

This excludes one half of the population, argues Elling, because of lack of insight into the way that women might shop and enjoy being sold to.

"The products are crafted by men, sold by men, but these men don't necessarily know what women want and in the food chain of importer, distributor and retailer, you pretty much don't see women," continues Elling.

"How different it would be if women were in the decision making roles as to what brands to bring on, how those decision makers would view potential products that are perhaps currently being turned down in an all male board room - I don't have any evidence, but I suspect there would be a different sensibility."

Another critical element that Elling suggests women would bring to trade dealings would be a culture of much greater transparency and communication. She doesn't pull any punches with her assessment of current business climate.

"The wine industry by and large globally is stuck in another century, and despite a tremendous amount of change on the production side to bring that up to speed, the other elements show an entire sector woefully lacking is communication and marketing side," she says.

"Women are predominantly online, embracing wine and other products, and somehow this is not being captured and being harnessed as distributors and the trade are rarely online, they don't even see it as necessary.

"This is a complete disconnect - how many men are deciding on bringing in new products? If there were more women involved in the decision-making, would it change the dynamic in the way new products were brought to market - would it create a shift in the way wine is communicated to the masses? Absolutely!"

In terms of a solution, Elling suggests that at the winemaking and retail ends of the chain, women need to be better appraised of the benefits of the jobs, often including potentially child-compatible flexibility in working schedules, along with the inherent interest in the wine and drinks world.

But she also believes that, for the trade to fully optimise its potential engagement with both sexes of consumers, this balance must necessarily be throughout all aspects of the supply chain.

"I believe that that raising awareness is a major part - there should be a drive to balance the numbers because this will make for better companies and consumers will be better served by having that female sensitivity in the ranks, and we need to bring attention to that topic," says Elling.

"I do believe that there is a very strong future for women in this sector. You can have an incredible career in this business, but there needs to be some changes in way the business of wine is run."

Printer friendly version