International Women's Day: Spotlighting Milwaukee women cooking up a difference in the food, beverage industry
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Nine beers. Eight female brewery representatives. One International Women's Day.
Station No. 6 in West Allis was packed Wednesday evening, as dozens came out for the "Taproom Takeover" -- a night of collaboration between a handful of breweries in the Midwest.
Organizers told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White they had two goals.
The first?
To raise awareness for women in the male-dominated craft beer industry.
"It’s all of us getting to work together and really celebrate each other in this industry and in Wisconsin," said Julianna Pierandozzi, a sales rep. in the area for 3 Sheep's Brewing.
The second?
To raise funds for Milwaukee's Sojourner Family Peace Center, "the largest nonprofit provider of domestic violence prevention and intervention services in Wisconsin, serving nearly 8,000 clients each year," a statement said.
A dollar from each beer sold was donated to the organization. This year's goal was set for $4,000 dollars, with breweries committing to match donations up to $2,000.
“The more we work together, the more we promote diversity, the more we promote inclusion, the more we’re gonna get," said Jennifer Durkin, a marketing manager for Surly Brewing.
Hundreds also attended the Let's Talk Womxn MKE's bash at The Starling in the Historic Third Ward, which featured women in Milwaukee's restaurant industry.
“I think a lot of the times women get isolated or siloed into their own lane and it’s like well I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, or I don’t want to do this," said Alexa Alfaro, the owner of Meat on the Street. "It’s like no, we can all occupy a bunch of different lanes.”
With March marking Women's History Month and the 8th representing International Women's Day, many expressed interests in celebrating Milwaukee's female leaders not only on designated days, but every day.
“Most of us have worked in service industry, worked in the bars, restaurants around town and we were always kind of there but now we’re expanding into these upper management roles," Pierandozzi said. "10, 15 years, we're just gonna keep taking and dominating and bringing our perspective into this world as well."