Welcoming women to brewing careers

In Norway, every third employee working in the food industry is a woman. But far fewer women have joined the country’s brewers – a challenge shared across much of the brewing industry worldwide.

We are tackling this challenge head on through a partnership between Ringnes, our Norwegian business and Norway’s leading beer provider, and Pink Boots Society, an international non-profit that supports women and non-binary people working in brewing.

Inspired by Pink Boots Society, Ringnes and the national Brewery and Beverage Association collaborated to establish a scholarship programme aimed at bolstering the careers of women professionals in Norway’s beer industry. Recipients will receive funds to access tuition, conferences, training or research.

“We have many talented women in key roles at Ringnes and we are proud to have a balance of female brewmasters. But we still have a way to go for the company overall. For us, the way forward is about working in a targeted manner with a range of measures, on our own and together with central industry organisations that clearly stand behind the same goal. The collaboration with Pink Boots Society, with the explicit aim to educate and attract more women to the brewing industry, is a good example of such an initiative”.

- Even Ødegården, HR Business Partner, Ringnes

Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Ringnes is already improving gender balance, with half (50%) of its brewmasters now women and nearly 19% of its employees now women overall.

This partnership in Norway is just one example of the steps we are taking to welcome more women into brewing careers worldwide.