The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has formed a strategic alliance with Women of the Vine & Spirits, a membership organization that promotes global empowerment and advancement of women in the alcohol beverage industry.
The alliance aims to improve the visibility of progression paths and opportunities for women in the wine and spirits industry. This will be achieved primarily through the development of shared content for WSET alumni and Women of the Vine & Spirits members, the organizations say.
In recognition of the alliance, Women of the Vine & Spirits will become WSET’s 49th Corporate Patron, while WSET will support Women of the Vine & Spirits as one of its Corporate Members.
WSET’s Corporate Patron program helps organizations add value to their business by maximizing the benefits WSET education provides, while providing essential support to enable WSET to continue to develop its qualifications and maintain its global alumni program. It also offers businesses facilitated engagement with WSET’s network of over 700 Approved Programme Providers worldwide that reach thousands of wine and spirits professionals and enthusiasts.
Similarly, Corporate Membership of Women of the Vine & Spirits provides a portfolio of benefits for businesses, the company says, and signals to employees, and the industry at large, that the organization “supports gender diverse leadership teams and talent development.”
Women of the Vine & Spirits and WSET will generate opportunities for collaboration and education to benefit their members and alumni, respectively, including co-hosted webinars, resource downloads, Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation Scholarships to contribute to WSET course fees, and more.
Ian Harris, WSET chief executive, will speak at the Women of the Vine & Spirits International Summit in London on June 28, 2018. The first-of-its-kind gathering of industry professionals is dedicated to collaborating, supporting and advancing women in the alcohol beverage industry, providing attendees with a opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals taking action to promote diversity and equality, raise awareness of unconscious bias, foster mentorship for future generations, and create a world-wide, all-inclusive industry, the organizations say.
The Summit is open to all to attend and tickets are available on the Women of the Vine & Spirits website.
“Education is vital to empowering women,” says Deborah Brenner, founder & CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits. “We value and recognise the benefit that higher knowledge gives to an individual seeking to progress their career. We are thrilled to be working with WSET as a leader in the field and are excited for the new prospects our alliance will create for a successful future.”
Added Harris, “WSET is a champion for equal opportunity in the industry, emphasising the value of education for all professionals and enthusiasts, men and women. 43% of WSET Diploma graduates are women and eight out of the past 10 highest scoring Diploma students have been female. We look forward to collaborating with Women of the Vine & Spirits to develop further opportunities together for the benefit of our students, our partner’s members and the industry at large.”
As an additional benefit, WSET Diploma students and alumni will be entitled to 20% off Women of the Vine & Spirits membership. In addition to membership benefits, members of Women of the Vine & Spirits are eligible to apply for scholarships through the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation 501(c)(3). For information on membership, email info@womenofthevine.com.
Looking ahead, WSET has also confirmed participation at the fifth annual Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium in Napa Valley, CA, 11-13 March 2019.