‘Ally’ as a verb – how can spirits better support DEI?
How can the spirits and hospitality industry effectively show up as allies to improve the sense of belonging in workplaces?
Vicky Ilankovan, executive director, Equal Measures, a non-profit organisation founded by Deano Moncrieffe, hosted a panel talk at Hope 93 Gallery in London on Monday (16 June). The panel speakers were: Becky Paskin, founder of OurWhisky Foundation, Sam Trevethyen, global brand ambassador for Discarded Spirits, and Tris Carvalho, general manager at The Cocktail Trading Company.
The discussion explored the notion of the word ‘ally’ as a verb, and what it means in today’s world.
“Being an ally, for me, basically means showing up for people that may be in a less privileged position compared to you,” said Carvalho. “It also means speaking out in any way you can, but also just find your own way and see where you can best put your abilities.”
Regarding the hospitality industry specifically, Ilankovan noted how hospitality is “the most culturally diverse industry in the UK”. She continued: “We have the highest percentages of ethnic diversity within the UK in terms of the industry. It’s estimated one in two hospitality workers are neurodivergent. We have an incredibly high queer community and, I think, 48% of hospitality workers in London specifically identify as women.
“We have so much diversity here and as such, we have a duty of care to support our workers; not only our workers, but our customers.”
To improve working conditions and to offer that allyship and support, the panel said it was important to be able to look internally at a company, assess what’s working and what isn’t, and then adapt and change as necessary.
“It’s incredible to see such really effective and meaningful organisations, like Equal Measures, like Celebrate Her, like OurWhisky, not just growing, but growing together as well,” Paskin added. “We’re all allies in that sense too, even though we all have our own focus on specific areas.
“We’ve forgotten that community is at the heart of everything, and we need each other to grow. We need to lean on each other for experiences; we’re here to listen and not call out.
“I always say that DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] is a journey, it’s not a destination because true equality is probably something we’ll always be trying to fight for. Inevitably, as one group succeeds, others fall behind.”
So where can the industry improve? How can it do better?
Trevethyen said from experience, one of the most impactful things people can do is to simply ask questions. “You are probably not working in a space where there is some evil, bigoted person that is stopping you having an impact through whatever platform there is. It’s more likely they just don’t know, or they’ve not thought about it, or they don’t know the laws. They don’t know what resource to look up, but by asking the question of what you can do, how you can get involved, and therefore what the business can do, both in hospitality and in your personal space, you will find people that are also looking to enact change, and you will always be surprised by the results, really.”
Conversations are crucial – and powerful, the panel agreed. By increasing the number of conversations on DEI – be they online, in media, or in personal settings and groups – that has a trickle-down effect. Companies are looking more at DEI because their audiences are talking about it and taking it seriously, which adds gravitas.
Politically charged
In the past year, there have been some high-profile spirits companies that have stepped away from their official DEI programmes. On this, Paskin said: “A lot of companies have scaled back how much effort they’re putting into DEI – it’s short-sighted. Some have done it because it’s politically charged. Some have done it because maybe there’s new leadership that don’t believe in the value of DEI programmes.
“Others have done it because times are fucking tough. It’s really, really, really tough. In the spirits industry right now, people are being laid off all over the place. Hundreds and hundreds of people have lost their jobs. This is the state of where we’re at, at the moment.
“And DEI is one part that loses funding straight away because the value to the business and keeping that business afloat is not apparent to them. Is that a mistake? I think it depends on individual companies as to where they’re at. But from what I understand, there are organisations that have scaled back their DEI investment, but are still doing things internally, keeping their ERGs [employment resource groups] going, doing things on a level which doesn’t necessarily require budget, while still maintaining some sense of of DEI programmes within their organisations.
“I think the thing they could do better when it comes to this is the communication about why they’re scaling back DEI, particularly if they’re organisations that aren’t doing it because of any political motivation.”
Something is better than nothing
Exploring further the subject of how companies can be better allies, Trevethyen stressed: “Doing something is always better than doing nothing.”
Trevethyen continued: “One [stat] I heard the other day was that every undiagnosed ADHD person in the UK costs the government at least £20,000 (US$27,600) over the course of their lifetime, in terms of unpaid taxes, medical costs, all of that.
“We all have a platform in our own way, whether that be the job that you do, social media, a club you go to on the weekends, and one of the things we do so well as individuals is making decisions as groups and collectives. It’s a little bit harder, but that progress over perfection because perfection is paralysing, and it prevents another ‘P’ word [progress].”
To that note, “be the change you want to see” was a phrase to live by for Carvalho.
Carvalho added: “If you want the world to be more inclusive, don’t put it on everyone else to start with. Make sure that you are checking your unconscious biases, for example. Little things like that.
“The important thing, for me, is that people pick their lane. And what I mean by that is, if you’re someone with social anxiety, don’t go out your way to stand on the street corner and shout at people. Pick your lane. For example, if you’re someone who’s really active on social media, maybe use that as a platform.
“Because if you speak to two people and you manage to change their minds, and these two people speak to two other people, it’s like a branch, and the way that it creates changes is exponential.”
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