Wine Australia has announced that it will be funding a university-led collaborative research project between Australian Grape & Wine’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in Wine (DEIW) committee, Charles Sturt University, and University of New South Wales.
The research team will work closely with industry stakeholders with the goal of identifying recommendations and developing a practical toolkit for all wine sector businesses and organisations.
According to Chair of the DEIW Committee Ali Laslett, “promoting gender equality aligns with the strategic priorities of many primary industries. The DEIW Committee identified several initiatives in our workplan, and we are delighted that our recommendation to provide practical resources for all businesses within the sector will be realised through this project. Our sector’s future success is built on practices that support and retain a diverse workforce.”
The new research project follows on from results from a recent study funded by Wine Australia first published in May. According to Laslett, those results showed that, although Australia’s wine industry has made significant progress towards becoming more gender diverse, it still has “some way to go on many fronts, including the gender pay gap.”
The new study reflects the significance of the issue for Wine Australia, which identified gender equality and diversity as a priority in its One Grape & Wine Sector Plan.
“This research project will build on efforts made by the sector in recent years, recognising the need to progress these, providing evidence-based support for ongoing improvement,” said Martin Cole, Wine Australia’s CEO.
“Our goal is to equip the sector with practical resources to be more inclusive, fostering equality and diversity to strengthen business and sector performance.”
To select the most qualified business partners, Wine Australia says it conducted a competitive tendering process. Larissa Bamberry, Associate Professor of one of the two successful applicants, says her Charles Sturt research team already has “experience working with women in non-traditional roles across various industries, inform[ing] our effective solutions for gender equity within the wine sector.”
Prior to the project’s start, Wine Australia has put out an expression of interest for four additional members:
- “one woman and one man under 30 years of age, with at least two years full-time experience in any role within the Australian grape and wine sector.
- “two individuals of any age and gender with substantial experience in viticulture and vineyard operations from a small to medium enterprise, ideally located in NSW, ACT, Victoria, WA, Tasmania or Queensland.
“Contact research@wineaustralia.com to register interest, include a brief paragraph that answers why you are the best person to be a member of the group, and attach a one-page CV. EOIs will close Monday 1 July 2024 at 4pm ACST.”
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