Celebrating influential women across the drinks industry
Gemma Wills
Sales Director UK On Trade & Premium for Accolade Wines
How is diversity & inclusion a key foundation at your own organisation?
“At Accolade, we are so proud to have launched our Global Diversity & Inclusion strategy, Power of People. We encourage our teams to get involved by educating themselves via our platforms, for example, listening to podcasts where everyone can ask questions.
“Diversity and Inclusion is the responsibility of everyone in our business, whether it is our amazing people leaders or new employees just starting out in their career, everyone has the opportunity to create an inclusive environment at Accolade Wines.”
Do you feel a positive culture being in place helps you cement business relationships?
“Absolutely. Accolade (like many businesses) has had its fair share of change over the past 3 or 4 years, and providing a positive culture is at the heart of it all.
“Our people come first. We do everything we can to ensure the balance of work and life is maintained and every leader in the business provides a platform for their teams to operate and to speak up and out without fear and in a safe space.
“This culture translates to the way we work with our customers. Building strong and meaningful relationships, doing what we say we’ll do and working towards ours and their best interests.”
Tell us about your own success story, positive experiences etc?
“My career, my real career started when I joined the drinks industry. I fell in love with the dynamics, the people and the product. I think I would’ve been quite happy to have stayed in telesales, helping people and being part of a team, but I always had the desire for more.
“Luckily, I had some great people around me who believed in me, and supported and pushed me into every opportunity, whether I realised I could do it or not! I still give credit to my first real boss at Matthew Clark, Penny Barkas. She coached me to believe that I was good enough and that I didn’t need to be the ‘cookie cutter’ mould I had always envisaged I would need to be to get on.
“I have always worked in quite a male dominated environment, and one where I wasn’t always the most qualified, or professional sounding – certainly not the one with the loudest voice, and over the years, I am so proud to say that I have always had a good eye for spotting similar people, and working with them to get them on in their career. I think this is something I have, and will always be most proud of.”
What opportunities are there for career evolution within your company?
“Accolade recognises the stars that shine out as well as stars in the making, but we also recognise the heartbeat of our company, the people who just make it happen, each and every day. We constantly ask our teams for feedback about how we’re doing, what they would like to see, and we have a pretty robust development plan in place for those that want to push their career on.
“The world changes every day, and so do people and their priorities. I strongly believe we will continue to evolve to ensure we get the best and give the best to our teams.”
What has your experience been like as a woman working in your field?
“It hasn’t always been easy. I’ve reflected back to times when I have been uncomfortable, or had to behave a certain way just to be heard, and whilst I know this has shaped who I am today, I also hope that for future generations, there will be a much more level playing field.
“I tend to suffer from imposter syndrome pretty frequently, and I wonder when this began, or what triggered it, or even if it had always been there – and what would have happened if I had given in to it all those years ago.
“Luckily, working in an industry I love made it easier, because I wanted to succeed, I wanted to achieve – plus I always want to prove people wrong (rightly or wrongly).”
What challenges have you overcome in the past in this regard?
“It would be so easy to say it was all driven by a particular type of person, believing they knew more than me, when in actual fact, I met my fair share of men and women who were keen to put me back in my place to make themselves feel better.
“From the back handed compliments, the passive aggressive remarks, the ‘you’re quite good for your age/for a woman’, there has been too many to count. It took me quite a while to realise these kinds of statements said more about them than me, but I guess you learn with age!
“I try not to dwell on the negative experiences I’ve had in my past 25 years in the drinks industry. I focus more on how I can ensure those kinds of experiences don’t happen to my team, colleagues and customers around me.”
What experiences have your female clients had (positive or negative) within the drinks industry, if this is something you can share with us?
“The ‘what do I get in return’ response when dealing with a customer or colleague offering unsolicited advances;
“The ‘I’ve been doing it longer so I know more than you’ brigade. Usually when someone is threatened;
“The unsolicited invasion in personal space over a business dinner after some drinks, hands around throat, hand on bum etc;
“The favourite ‘you will never amount to anything’ – personal favourite given to me when I was about 22;
“The ‘you’ve clearly got something about you, for a woman’ – again, mine from a couple of years ago.”
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