Are all-women cocktail competitions a useful way to boost the profile of female bartenders – or are they just a patronising practice? Two industry experts give their views.

An integral part of the industry, cocktail competitions open up new career paths to bartenders and provide an outlet for unbridled creativity.

Women are leading the field in mature cocktail markets across the globe, curating menus and serving up sensational offerings in world-renowned bars from London to LA – but if you cast your eye over competition entry lists, you’ll see there’s a startling lack of female entrants.

While the issues underpinning the lack of women in cocktail competitions are complex, brands and bartending bodies have taken steps to tackle this by hosting all-female competitions; a comfortable yet competitive arena free from misogyny. But how useful a tool are they?

Click through the following pages to see what two top female bartenders have to say about all-women drinks competitions.

Aiste Valiukaite, bartender at Nature, Aberdeen, Scotland

‘All-female competitions act as a reminder that women take charge of bars, open their own and create spectacular drinks’

I think all-female competitions exist because they create a more comfortable and inclusive environment for newbie competitors, but also give a unique opportunity to network with an abundance of women in hospitality around the world.

Compared to other competitions, Pink Your Drink keeps the balance between a competitive environment and making participants feel comfortable. For one girl, it was her first competition and she felt it gave her more confidence to apply to more. I’ve been active in competing since last January, but winning PYD gave me that boost of confidence I was lacking.

In terms of how I’ve been treated in mixed-gender competitions, I have not been treated poorly, and in no way am I against them – after all, they amount to about 99% of competitions I enter. The issue is a wide gender imbalance in the industry – not just competitions. All-female competitions act as a reminder that women take charge of bars, open their own and create spectacular drinks – it is no longer a boys’ club.

Many female competitions have dual purpose – to support charities and equality. Talented, hard-working women who have experienced inequality at work have started up all-female competitions because of the wide gender misbalance in the industry. All-female competitions address this boldly and attempt to encourage women to compete in the long run. I don’t distinguish all-female competitions from the rest – a competition is a competition. But knowing that its initial purpose is to inspire participation as well as raise funds for charity make the experience more special and socially responsible.

To increase female participation, the partial solution could be newbie mixed-gender competitions. In Aberdeen I had a few chances to enter newbie competitions. It was a good experience and allowed me to meet bartenders from all over the town – men and women. Increasing numbers in newbie competitions give bartenders a taste of what competing is like, expand their knowledge on brands and, most importantly, gain confidence.

Carla Molina Ruiz, bartender at Mr Fogg’s, London

‘Sometimes I feel people look down at you because you are a woman, and in a competition there is extra attention on you’

The industry used to be mainly dominated by men. Now you can find more and more women behind the bar. I guess all- female competitions are a way to recognise the increase of ladies bartending, or the importance behind it. But by marking that, you are implying that for a woman to win a competition it has to be an all-female one, which is not the case, I hope, but it does makes you wonder.

My first competition was an all-female one. A good friend mentioned it to me and I decided to give it a go. I liked it, but when they announced the winners they said, “in third place is this little girl” or “this little lady” and even if the person was trying to be friendly, it seemed wrong all the same.

That ‘little lady’ won because her drink and presentation were good, not because she was little, or a woman. Sometimes in this industry I feel that people look down at you because you are a woman, and in a competition there is all this extra attention on you and you are put on the spot.

Every time I am in a mixed gender competition and I speak with the other competitors, they always presume it’s my first competition, and there is something in the way they are asking or presuming, that puts me off. Sometimes my boyfriend comes with me to the competitions and when we enter the room together, someone always presumes that he is the one competing and I am just a companion.

No all-male cocktail competitions exist, and an all-female competition could lead to people thinking women cannot win on their own merits, which is clearly not helping the cause. We should praise people for their good work, women and men. Women have been fighting this fight for a while now, and not only in this industry.

The bartending phenomenon is never going to go away, and neither will competitions. I just really think we should encourage anybody, man or woman, with an interest in tending bar to take a leap and see how far they can take it.