WSET forms strategic alliance with Women of the Vine & Spirits

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has formed a strategic alliance with Women of the Vine & Spirits, the membership organisation that promotes the empowerment and advancement of women in the alcohol beverage industry, worldwide.

The mutual alliance aims to improve the visibility of progression paths and opportunities for women in the wine and spirits industry. This will be achieved primarily through the development of shared content for WSET alumni and Women of the Vine & Spirits members.

In recognition of the alliance, Women of the Vine & Spirits will become WSET’s 49^th Corporate Patron, while WSET will support Women of the Vine & Spirits as one of its Corporate Members.

WSET’s Corporate Patron programme helps organisations add value to their business by maximising the benefits WSET education provides, whilst providing essential support to enable WSET to continue to develop its world-class qualifications and maintain its global Alumni programme. It also offers businesses facilitated engagement with WSET’s network of over 700 Approved Programme Providers worldwide that reach thousands of wine and spirits professionals and enthusiasts. Similarly, Corporate Membership of Women of the Vine & Spirits provides a portfolio of benefits for businesses, and signals to employees, and the industry at large, that the organisation supports gender diverse leadership teams and talent development.

Women of the Vine & Spirits and WSET will generate opportunities for collaboration and education to benefit their members and alumni, respectively, including co-hosted webinars, resource downloads, Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation Scholarships to contribute to WSET course fees, and more.

As a notable supporter, Ian Harris, WSET Chief Executive, will be speaking at the Women of the Vine & Spirits International Summit in London on 28 June 2018. The first-of-its-kind gathering of industry professionals is dedicated to collaborating, supporting and advancing women in the alcohol beverage industry, providing attendees with a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals taking action to promote diversity and equality, raise awareness of unconscious bias, foster mentorship for future generations, and create a world-wide, all-inclusive industry. The Summit is open to all to attend and tickets are available on the Women of the Vine & Spirits website.

Ian Harris, WSET Chief Executive, comments, “WSET is a champion for equal opportunity in the industry, emphasising the value of education for all professionals and enthusiasts, men and women. 43% of WSET Diploma graduates are women and eight out of the past 10 highest scoring Diploma students have been female. We look forward to collaborating with Women of the Vine & Spirits to develop further opportunities together for the benefit of our students, our partner’s members and the industry at large.”

Deborah Brenner, Founder & CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits, says, “Education is vital to empowering women. We value and recognise the benefit that higher knowledge gives to an individual seeking to progress their career. We are thrilled to be working with WSET as a leader in the field and are excited for the new prospects our alliance will create for a successful future.”