Women in Wine Expo 2023: Pivoting the Gender Bias
The Women in Wine Expo 2023 was held in London, England, where women from 26 countries attended the much-anticipated three-day event to network, discuss, and celebrate women in the wine industry. This year’s event was the first one back after a three-year hiatus, and the excitement of all attendees accumulated to an energy I will never forget.
It was fascinating to be in a room surrounded by professional, intelligent, and passionate women in wine and to feel that totally unique, female-only energy level all around. It was exciting, but without tension. It was infectious, and overall empowering. There was zero intimidation, or self-checking. It was simply respectful. How refreshing it was to see professional women truly just being themselves, intimidation free, and speaking openly. It was as though they were stripped of self-doubt, and any shielding barriers.
Women who were presenting, along with the audience were open to emotion and tears, and overall speech choice without judgement. We were validated of feelings, hormone cycles and changes, worries, and hardships and how they play a factor in the workforce.
Photo by Heather Deanitz
The Itinerary Overview
Wednesday May 10 - Welcome Evening in London (at Balfour St Barts)
An evening of meet and greet, networking, and dancing. English sparkling wine and appetizers were served.
Thursday, May 11 - Full Day in Kent
A round-trip bus tour from London to Kent to enjoy a full-day event including a sparkling wine masterclass, a cider class, three course lunch, and a Balfour winery vineyard guided tour.
Friday May 12 - Conference Day in London (at Dickens Inn)
The day included panel discussions and keynote speakers. The evening entailed a walk-around tasting that included not just English wine, but wines from around the world all led by women in wine.
In a brief interview with Women in Wine Expo founder, Senay Ozdemir, I asked her what stood out most to her about this year’s event compared to others in the past.
“The Women in Wine Expo is the first and the only global conference featuring women in wine and we have proven to be so. We had in total 91 women representing 26 countries. Of course it was also the city of London, as world’s wine hub, that attracted so many people, but we had never expected that it would be so popular! What surprised me was that many of the attendants of WIWE 2023 came for the first time to London, and it’s wonderful to see that WIWE is also a catalyst for women to travel.” - Senay Ozdemir, founder of Women in Wine Expo
Senay is an award winning journalist who noticed a significant gender bias upon entering the industry, especially when it came to public acknowledgement and work reward. So, much needed initiative in 2019, she established the Women in Wine Expo to promote and empower women in the wine industry, create awareness about gender equality, and provide a safe space for women to elevate their business and network. Feeling a huge sense of pride in just attending the event itself, I had to ask - What are some lasting impacts that WIWE provides that you most proud of?
“I am so proud that WIWE – since its first edition women in wine are being able to do business together. It’s satisfactory to see that women are really profiting from personal development by attending the WIWE, or that WIWE has been a catalyst for their career. For example Sharrol Mukendi Klaas from South Africa. We asked Sharrol to come and speak in Georgia. It was the first time ever Sharrol would get on a plane, would travel outside of Africa and all the way to Georgia. She had never traveled by herself. She convinced PIWOSA to sponsor her, an organization that supports South African women of color in the wine business. After her talk at WIWE, Sharrol won the Gerard Basset Scholarship and now she is traveling through wineries and vineyards in Europe to educate herself. Her international career is really going uphill! And I dare to say, and Sharrol admits, it’s because of WIWE. We have many stories like Sharrol’s as the WIWE is also a stage for women to get out and show the world what they are capable of.
For many speakers at WIWE it’s the first time to give a presentation. As a journalist, a publicist and event producer I know how important it is to come with unique stories, that’s why I choose new names. I am proud that I have reached out to Maryna Revkova, Best Sommelier of Ukraine 2020. She was in Kiev at the time Russia invaded Ukraine. I reached out to her via Instagram, she replied back in one minute, telling her house was being bombed and that every moment she would lose contact with the world. Maryna was organizing a route to flee. We stayed in touch for a couple of days, as I really wanted her to tell her story as a sommelier in a war zone – at our conference. Maryna fled to Portugal, from there I arranged her tickets and she gave a heartbreaking speech at our conference. That’s what I am proud of: to tell the stories of women from untold wine regions. And I think the wine world is ready for new stories and the voices of the women who make a difference.
We all are role models for the next generation of girls who want to enter the wine business. So, whether they are taking over their family’s business (and deal with the patriarchal system), changing career in their fifties, moving from one part of the world to another, we need to tell their stories. We also need more women voices from marginalized groups, like women with a lgbtq+ background. It’s not easy, but somebody has to do it!” - S.O.
WIWE founder Senay Ozdemir stands in the middle of the panelists for India: The Next Big Thing - Sumita Sarma, Ruma Singh, Ritu Singhal, and Vidya Narasimhan.
The keynote speakers held a captive audience discussing current trends for women in the wine business and telling heroic and uplifting stories of their own journeys and success. The conference panel discussions on the third day were equally as powerful. They included: Turkish Women in Wine with Senay Ozdemir, Seyma Bas, Sevgi Tuzel, and Zeynep Tangil as panelists and moderated by Fran Bridgewater. And Indian Women in Wine with Ritu Singhal, Sumita Sarma, and Vidya Narasimhan as panelists moderated by Ruma Singh.
One of the biggest takeaways of the Women in Wine Expo was something that truly struck a chord with me. It was when Brand Strategist at Constellation Brands, Seyma Bas, was discussing her battles with sexism and racism on her career path. She stated that we can’t use our anger to fight anything, but we must approach the uncomfortable sexist situations with kindness and empathy. Although I do try to empathize with bullies and bigots, my anger regarding the entirety of cruelty in the wine community is a consistent inner struggle. It was one of many beneficial reminders from the event on how to maintain tenacity as a woman in wine.
“What resulted was a powerful female collective to uplift and encourage each other - an unending, global tidal wave of female empowerment.”
Women in wine from all corners of the globe attend the Women in Wine Expo 2023
The walk-around tasting on the last day of the event was celebrated with just as much enthusiasm, if not more than what the WIWE began with. Business women filled with hope, and excitement to build their business in an unbiased atmosphere.
If I’m being transparent, it makes me emotional, and truly moves me to look back on these photos where the aura of happiness of the attendees can be felt through the images alone.
Despite the abundance of symmetry within these women’s lives suffering sexism in the wine world (from 22 different countries), it was just the basis for an overall celebration of success stories and perseverance. What resulted was a powerful female collective to uplift and encourage each other - an unending, global tidal wave of female empowerment.
The Women in Wine Expo selects a new hosting country each year and WIWE 2024 will be held in Portugal in May. See you there!