International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) will be back for 2026 with funding and partnerships in place to increase the campaign's impact.
The global campaign organised by Women On Tap CIC brings together beer and International Women’s Day by inspiring communities to gather at breweries on or around 8 March to brew, network, learn and celebrate women.
The beer industry remains stubbornly male-dominated, with women still making up just 30 per cent of the overall UK workforce – a figure unchanged since 2022.
Only four per cent of those women are now in brewing roles, a sharp drop from 11 per cent in 2019. Women now represent just eight per cent of all brewers, down from nine per cent last year, and their presence in management has slipped from 25 to 23 per cent. Meanwhile, women remain heavily overrepresented in administrative roles, comprising 78 per cent of that segment.
IWCBD aims to drive change by boosting representation, promoting the growth of support networks, and inspiring breweries to reflect on workplace inclusion.
First launched in 2014 by Sophie de Ronde of Burnt Mill brewery, the global brewing celebration ran for 10 years before taking a break in 2024.
Later that year, Women On Tap CIC – the social enterprise championing gender equality in the beer industry – announced it would be picking up the reins. IWCBD made its welcome return this year with 61 brew days, 837 participants, 66 beers, and £26,921 raised for 44 women’s causes around the world.
Women On Tap has now secured funding and put in place the building blocks for IWCBD 2026, with a number of enhancements. These include:
– the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) is headline partner for IWCBD for another year, demonstrating its commitment to inspiring inclusion and supporting positive change
– WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) will once again be the education partner. For 2026, it is expanding its support by increasing donated places on the exclusive IWCBD online Level 1 Award in Beer from 18 to 30. These places will be available to participants across all regions, helping more people around the world to access professional beer education
– a new bursary will be offered, supplying direct financial support to those who are required to cover their own travel costs and who would find this a barrier to participation in the campaign
– Simpsons Malt has returned as a main sponsor
SIBA chief executive Andy Slee said: “SIBA could not be more pleased to once again be partnering with Women On Tap to present the International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day for 2026. Improving the diversity of the beer industry and attracting more women to join brewing is essential for the future of the sector and we look forward to helping as many breweries as possible get involved this coming year.”
WSET beer educator Natalya Watson said: “WSET is thrilled to increase its impact for next year’s IWCBD campaign. In 2026, we’ll be offering 30 global participants the opportunity to gain their Level 1 Award in Beer and to grow their networks through this special online course. Our qualifications don’t just provide product knowledge and tasting skills – they build confidence and create opportunities for people to take their next step in beer.”
Women On Tap founder Rachel Auty, who will lead the campaign again in 2026, said: “It’s been an honour to take ownership of this legendary campaign this year. We’ve already started to evolve it with excellent results, and there’s more to come.
“For 2026 we’re looking to grow participation, particularly internationally. We’ve engaged a range of new industry supporters and we’re introducing a bursary scheme to remove some cost barriers. We want to increase the impact of the campaign across all metrics for 2026, and we’re grateful to SIBA, WSET and all our other supporters for enabling us to do this.”
