There is a new resource available to independent breweries that want to make women in their brewhouses, bars, taprooms, and festivals safer from discrimination and harassment.
Launched by a collaboration of industry professionals, the Safe Bars PACT Initiative offers a model code of conduct for breweries and encourages specialized training for their teams. The goal is to make workplaces and drinking spaces safer and more respectful for employees as well as customers.
Breweries tend to be seen as fun, casual places to work; their employees are predominantly men, and alcohol is always present. Those are among the factors that make them especially vulnerable to harassment and discrimination, even if there are steps that can help prevent such incidents. Those who work in the beer industry—men, in particular—are generally far more aware of the prevalence of sexual discrimination and harassment than they were even six months ago, thanks to the outpouring of firsthand accounts on social media earlier this year. Those accounts led to resignations and investigations at some breweries while more broadly raising concerns that the industry wasn’t doing enough to create safe, inclusive environments. They also led to efforts such as Brave Noise, a collaboration to maintain awareness while encouraging codes of conduct and clear reporting procedures.
Those cooperating on Safe Bars PACT include the Safe Bars certification program, focused on the hospitality industry, as well as the Craft Beer Professionals network and Lady Justice Brewing in Denver. PACT stands for “Promise of Awareness, Compassion, and Trust,” the basis of their model code of conduct.
Besides committing to a code, breweries that join the PACT are asked to register with Safe Bars, which provides 2.5-hour “active bystander” training on how to prevent harassment and intervene when it occurs. The training cost is on a sliding scale that favors smaller businesses. For breweries that lack funds for the training, the initiative specifically recommends joining the Brave Noise collaboration to brew a beer whose proceeds could cover the costs.
For more about the initiative, visit the Safe Bars PACT website.