BEER company Red Stripe is encouraging greater public discussion on the role men play in advancing gender balance through allyship.

According to head of human resources at Red Stripe Judon Bowden, in male-dominated industries men must play a significant role in creating an environment where women are comfortable to speak up, feel recognised and enjoy a sense of belonging.

“The fact is men are more likely to listen to other men, and the data show that women listen to men as well. Male allyship is about getting our male colleagues to not just support the movement towards gender equality but also become advocates within the company,” said Bowden.

“Red Stripe’s workforce is comprised of more men than women, so as part of our inclusivity agenda, we had to bring our men along the journey and entrench the ideals of balanced opportunities across genders. Since doing so we have found that collaboration between men and women delivers far more value than competition between genders,” added Bowden.

Promoting male allyship was the International Women’s Day (IWD) focus for Red Stripe, part of the HEINEKEN Company, which marked the day across more than 70 countries on March 8.

During an IWD luncheon celebrating the 82 female employees at the brewery, managing director of Red Stripe Luis Prata said that inclusion was not a “one-off topic” for the company.

“We have always been fully integrated into the Jamaican society and so it’s only natural we reflect and mirror the society in all its nuances. Women play such an important role in Jamaica across all areas and so we believe it should be the same here at Red Stripe.

“Secondly, it is the right thing to do for our business. It is proven that we can make better decisions if we are more diverse in our decision-making process using our collective intelligence,” said Prata.

As part of HEINEKEN’s global network, Red Stripe adopted nine inclusive practices last year that serves as a company-wide guideline on inclusion and diversity.

The nine practices include principles such as ‘make it safe for others’, ‘find common ground with others’, ‘develop self-awareness’, and ‘communicate inclusively’.

This is designed to create a strong foundation for conscious efforts by all employees to foster workplace equality.

Gender specialist and lecturer at The University of the West Indies Dr Dalea Bean has endorsed the beer company’s drive to create gender balance, especially among managers.

“Although men make up 71 per cent of the Red Stripe workforce, at the management level there is near equality and there are more women in middle management than men. This is a fantastic show of equity and that something is happening internally that allows women to have an equal opportunity at the management level,” said Bean.