A Question Of Balance

Helen Strachan, Legal And Corporate Affairs Director And Better Balance Ambassador At Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Explains What It Takes To Achieve Gender Equality In The Workplace.

- Lisa Smyth

Traditionally, wine has been a male-dominated industry and has presented serious challenges to women looking to forge a path in it. All my family members have been involved in the industry in different roles. While I chose the legal route, my sister began as a viticulturist 25 years ago while also juggling the demands of being a single mother. I think about what she faced in terms of doing a vintage back then and how difficult that was. While we are doing things much smarter now, we still have a long way to go to retain women in our industry.

Currently in Australia, 50 per cent of graduates from viticulture and winemaking courses are women but they make up only 10 per cent of the industry. That’s a stark statistic, but in my role as a Better Balance Ambassador with Pernod Ricard Winemakers (PRW) I can see how gender equality is now front of mind in the industry, whereas even five years ago that wasn’t the case.

BE ACCOUNTABLE