The Equal Measures UK Drinks Industry Census is live now and open to all in the drinks and bar community
Equal Measure UK, an organization that supports underrepresented or marginalised people working in the drinks industry, has launched an online census which aims to map the “lived experience” of members of the bar community.
Created in partnership with The Mixing Class, the census will capture data on the current demographic of the sector and examine the ways that ethnicity, sexuality, gender, neurodivergence, class, background, and ability can help or hinder career progression. This research will produce a body of work that provides true insights into realities of inclusion within the drinks industry.
Equal Measures believe this is vital because: “Existing research into the ethnic demographic of the drinks industry paints a reasonably healthy picture of diversity to the drinks business: an industry that reflects the diversity of people that populate the cities of the UK. What that research doesn’t show is how people of Black, Asian, or other minority ethnicity can experience barriers to career progression and are often trapped in menial work or junior positions; how accent bias can mean a person is overlooked for promotion or treated dismissively by their co-workers; how those who are queer or genderqueer can feel that they need to hide their identity, or experience discrimination in the workplace.”
As with any piece of research, the key to gaining an accurate picture of things will lay in collecting as much data as possible, so members of the bar community are encouraged to take the census, which is confidential and takes 6 minutes to complete.
Deano Moncrieffe, Founder of Equal Measures UK states: “Every single opportunity we have to contribute towards meaningful positive change should be shared, encouraged and amplified. I truly believe that this census can act as pivot point that enables key decision makers in our industry to look both internally and externally at the challenges we must overcome. I am hopeful this moment can be a progressive stride in the right direction. For various well documented reasons I would say this is probably one of the most difficult periods we have ever faced in our industry and now more than ever it’s vitally important systemic barriers and biases are identified and dismantled.”
You can add your voice to the Equal Measures UK Drinks Industry Census by clicking here.