Women in brewing

Women have been active in brewing since ancient times and though Western societies have for the last 150 years viewed brewing as a male dominated field, traditionally, it was an activity engaged in by women. Ethnographic and archaeological studies have shown that brewing was an outcropping of gathering or baking traditions, which were predominantly women's roles throughout the world. From the earliest evidence of brewing, from 7000 BCE, until the commercialization of brewing during industrialization, women were the primary brewers on all inhabited continents. In many cultures, deities, goddesses and protectors of brewer were female entities and associated with fertility.

From the middle of the eighteenth century, many women were barred from participating in alcohol production and were relegated to roles as barmaids, pub operators, bottlers or secretaries for breweries. In less industrialized areas, women continued to produce homebrews and traditional alcoholic beverages. From the mid-20th century, women began working as chemists for brewing establishments. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s women began reentering the field as craft brewers.

In many Western societies, brewing has been seen as a "man's domain"; however, ethnographic studies and archaeological records indicate that brewing alcohol was primary an activity engaged in by women, until the industrialization of brewing began. In some areas, the tradition stemmed from the fact that brewing was a by-product of gathering, while in others, it fell within the domain of baking. Beginning in the 18th century, women were increasingly barred from the business of brewing, except as barmaids or "publicans", licensees running pubs. From the 19th century, few women were employed in brewing with the exceptions of labor for auxiliary functions, such as bottling and secretarial posts. In the 20th century, women began to work in a limited capacity in laboratories, but with few exceptions, like Susannah Oland of Canada, women were excluded from directing brewing operations. Professional woman brewers in Western society are also known as "brewmasters," though before the trade became "masculinized," they were referred to as "brewsters."

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Wikipedia