ACD Conference & Trade Show 2022: Highlights
Debbie Shing, Pheelan Mah, Jenna Diubaldo, & Alayne MacIsaac
“We will definitely say things that will make you uncomfortable,” moderator Debbie Shing told to the post-lunch plenary session audience of the Distilling & Diversity panel—said about half-jokingly. She invited people to listen, and to “Let our words ferment … and maybe you’ll leave with a new spirit.”
The panel discussion was meant to address how a relatively small industry sector can embrace contemporary hiring and business practices that promote that support equity, diversity and inclusion. This interactive panel discussion featured female-identifying and ethnically underrepresented members of Canada’s artisan distillery community, addressing topics related to breaking down historical barriers in a traditionally male-dominated industry, as it grapples with a changing workforce, market, and expectations.
Shing started with some statistics projecting how non-English home speakers and non-white residents could compose one-third of the Canadian population by 2030. To set the stage for how the artisan spirits industry can be more inclusive to everyone, including staff and customers, she asked panelists what obstacles they had faced.
Confluence Distilling’s Pheelan Mah mentioned the “assumption, as a partner in the business, that I am not a decision-maker or distiller, when I am both of those things.” Sons of Vancouver co-owner and distiller Jenna Diubaldo agreed: “Immediately, your qualifications are called into question.”
When asked how the industry can improve, Sheringham Distillery’s Alayne MacIsaac offered that a commitment to inclusive internal policies and practices (as simple, for instance, as not referring to a “Christmas party,” as all staff may not be Christian) can even be acknowledged in job postings to attract diverse and like-minded applicants.
Mah mentioned that women, in particular, often undervalue their skills and potential, and that posting job opportunities in open, inclusive language makes them more accessible.
Diubaldo offered that partnerships, such as working with woman-led businesses on International Women’s Day or other collaboration products or projects, can be a way to start.
The panel took questions, and when one distiller raised his hand to ask for suggestions on how to do better, the suggestion (again, about half-jokingly made) was that he could have supported a staff member to attend the conference as well.
The suggestion garnered some laughs, claps and nodding of heads from an audience that listened deeply to the panel’s experience and advice, and took it to heart.