Women in wine update study

Abstract

The Australian grape and wine sector is consistently well within the top 10 largest producers in the world. Contribution of the sector to the Australian economy is substantial, with an estimated $45.5 billion in gross output, while supporting over 163,000 direct and indirect full and part-time jobs. Although positive contributions remain evident, in recent times considerable challenges have arisen, including global wine oversupply, significant duties on Australian wine to China, effects of COVID-19, changing consumer preferences and adapting to a changing climate.

With respect to the gender composition of the workforce, a study published in 2015 (using data from 2007–2013) demonstrated that, with the exception of marketing roles, men held the vast majority of leadership, winemaking and viticulturist roles in the Australian wine sector. That particular study was a world first considering gender balance in the Australian grape and wine sector.

As a means to examine progress, the current study uses the same methodology to determine the composition of women in leadership roles, using data from 2021–2023 (ten years after the original dataset). While recognising women work across the wine value chain, this particular dataset is limited to CEO, winemaker, viticulturist and marketing roles across the sector.