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Acting Up and Pushing Back: A Qualitative Study Exploring Women Workers' Resistance to Gender Inequalities in the UK Craft Beer Scene

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  • Amanda Atkinson
  • Thomas Thurnell‐Read

Abstract

The production, sale, and consumption of alcohol remains highly gendered, and although the craft beer sector has positioned itself as prioritizing progressive values, recent studies indicate that women are still excluded from the craft beer sector. This article presents an analysis of qualitative interviews with women working in various roles in the UK craft beer sector and explores the way in which they report experiences of gender inequality and sexism in the industry. The findings recount participants' experiences of the various ways in which women are made to feel out of place and their professional identities devalued and delegitimated, with women's taste and knowledge subordinated to that of men. However, importantly, the agency of women working in the sector is emphasized, with all interviewees engaged in the active assertion of their right to participate in the sector and to “call out” sexism and exclusionary behavior as a means of fostering more inclusive and egalitarian possibilities in the sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Amanda Atkinson & Thomas Thurnell‐Read, 2026. "Acting Up and Pushing Back: A Qualitative Study Exploring Women Workers' Resistance to Gender Inequalities in the UK Craft Beer Scene," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 1556-1568, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:33:y:2026:i:4:p:1556-1568
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.70140
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