A Safe Space is a balanced, healthy space where all people feel valued and respected.

• Wine is different from other industries because it revolves around an alcoholic beverage that can affect people's behavior. Therefore, it is incumbent on all wine businesses to have policies that:

1. Educate staff about the warning signs of alcohol abuse, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), and normalize supportive language around it. 

2. Create an atmosphere where people feel safe and encouraged to express concern for themselves or their colleagues and report any inappropriate or harmful conduct. 

3. Safeguards against alcohol abuse that can lead to violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, bullying, and other forms of abusive behavior.

4. Mandate actions including but not limited to protecting victims and removing offenders from the workplace. 

• Takes into account that BlPOC, AAPI, women, LGBTQIA+, migrant workers, immigrants, and other marginalized groups are different from safety for cisgender White men. We call for the creation of brave spaces that ensure physical and emotional well-being for all. 

A brave workplace utilizes privileges and resources to center people, not profits.  

• Brave spaces give workers room to express dissent without fear of retaliation. 

• Brave spaces give workers permission to ask and receive support and direction related to their alcohol consumption regardless of where their alcohol consumption lands on the alcohol use disorder (AUD) spectrum. 

• Brave workplaces are spaces where employers and co-workers dare to speak out against oppressive state-sanctioned violent forces and jurisdiction that violate the humanity of their employees, even (and especially) when their business is at stake, and where employers and co-workers alike speak truth to power and encourage such dialogue in a healthy and safe way between staff and management/employer.

• A brave space protects BIPOC, AAPI, LGBTQIA+, and all marginalized peoples from law enforcement, ICE, and other government disciplinary agencies and limits involvement with them.

• A brave space acknowledges and gives room to its workers experiencing grief or personal and collective trauma, allowing time, paid if possible, away from work without repercussions.

A marginalized group is a community that experiences exclusion (social, political, economic) and discrimination due to unequal power relationships.

White supremacy is an ideological belief that White people, and their culture, are superior to non-White people (especially Black people) and their respective cultures. It justifies dominance and violence against non-White people/people of color. From the earliest European settlements White, Christian, heteropatriarchal mores were imposed on and continue to be imposed on marginalized groups, creating the hegemonic culture we have now. How does White supremacy affect the wine industry?

Hiring and promotional practices that exclude and discriminate against BIPOC.  

• Treating customers differently because of their perceived race. 

• Racial slurs made by wine professionals. 

• Accepting overt racism from winemakers, importers, buyers, and other industry professionals and “influencers.”

• Choosing to work with, buy from, sell to, and promote only businesses owned and operated by people that look like you and/or share your way of life.

• Choosing to only employ people who look like you/look like your customers/share your way of life and/or not actively seeking to hire people who do not look like you/look like your customers/share only your way of life.

• Colorism, which serves to determine a person's value, especially in Blackness, but with POC across the board privileges those with a lighter complexion. Those with darker skin and non-European features are paid less, treated more harshly, are more likely to be perceived as angry or hardened, or less knowledgeable.

• Tokenism, the symbolic inclusion of one or a small number of BIPOC or AAPI, is a duplicitous tactic to make businesses seem woke instead of making substantial efforts to create inclusion and diversity.

• Stereotyping, essentializing, and othering that strips people of their individuality.

• Racial microaggressions such as comments and assumptions that BIPOC are not in a position of management, authority, or know about wine.

• Cultural appropriation such as exploiting BIPOC cultural signifiers for-profit and branding.

Anti-Blackness is a core tenet of a White supremacist society, wherein Black lives are deemed less valuable than those of White people. However, they are valued as property or commodified labor.

• Anti-Blackness is embedded in White supremacy due to widespread European imperialism, colonialism, the non-consensual diaspora of millions of indigenous West Africans, capitalism, and the modern prison industrial complex (aka legalized slavery). 

• The demonization of Blackness in opposition to Whiteness, which continues to this day. 

• Positing Black people as less than human, and therefore as inherently "slaveable." 

• Anti-Blackness is a global cultural unifier, and it is crucial to acknowledge and identify how anti-Blackness manifests in communities of color.  All POC do not experience racism the same way, and some POC also perpetuate anti-Blackness due to proximity to Whiteness, complicity, or ignorance. 

• Latinx people, including citizens and non-citizens, are stereotyped as "Illegals" and criminals, creating an atmosphere of mistrust and condescension that dehumanizes workers.   

• Migrant and other vineyard workers, many who are Latinx and/or Indigenous, are not valued for their potential and given opportunities for advancement.

• Jobs performed by Latinx and Indigenous workers such as vineyard work, kitchen work, and janitorial services often pay low wages that do not even meet the basic cost of living.

• Lack of healthcare for seasonal workers, many of whom are migrant laborers and Latinx, and/or Indigenous.   

• Dismissing the history of colonization and the dispossession of Indigenous land for wine growing and other wine business activities.

• Stereotyping of Indigenous people as alcoholics. 

• Stereotypes of Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Asian Americans as not being able to handle alcohol.

• Omitting the exploitation of and contributions made by enslaved BIPOC and Asian Immigrants in the building of California's wine industry. 

• Glorification of White European history in wine literature, education, production, sales, and service.

Colonialism is the subjugation of one group of people by another through political, cultural, and economic control (usually achieved through violent means - i.e., military conquest, genocide, cultural assimilation, etc.)

• The idea that a hegemonic group is entitled to land, labor, and resources of marginalized groups.

• European missionaries imposed Christianity and actively participated in the genocide of the Indigenous population.

Heteropatriarchy rests on a gender binary system based on male domination. It is an internalized misogynistic belief that cisgender male dominance is natural and inevitable. 

• Heteropatriarchy enables all forms of racism, colonialism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of marginalization.

• Heteropatriarchy is deeply woven into our society's fabric, creating overwhelming implicit bias--not only by men but also by women and non-binary individuals. 

Not hiring, promoting, or giving equal pay to women and LGBTQIA+ people.

• Not accommodating women’s, transgender, and non-binary health issues.

• Excluding women, non-binary, transgender, lesbian, gay, or bisexual identified people in professional settings.

• Mansplaining, interrupting, usurping, and dismissing non-male knowledge or authority.

• Using social occasions where women, non-binary, transgender, lesbian, gay, or bisexual people are not present to foster business relationships and opportunities.

• Sidelining women and non-binary individuals who are perceived as too strong, smart, or independent.

• Creating a culture of competition and scarcity by pitting non-male individuals against each other as they compete for limited ‘diversity’ positions on a team.

• Not using correct pronouns or proper names. 

• Fetishizing and disrespecting people who do not present as cisgender or heterosexual. 

• Normalizing homo/transphobic or sexist slurs, jokes, and microaggressions in the wine workplace.

• Normalizing hazing rituals/rites of passage/testing boundaries to enforce patriarchal ideals.

• Violence (including but not limited to sexual assault, rape, and harassment) against women, non-binary, transgender, lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals. 

• Perpetuating power structures based on historical precedents of exclusion (of anyone not cis-gendered, white, and male) including but not limited to access to equipment, education, mentoring, materials, and resources; property rights; and traditionally gendered workplace designations. 

• Actively or passively body shaming in work or work-adjacent environment. 

• Creating a culture around knowledge that is exclusionary and shaming.

• Disregarding a person’s potential lack of access due to forces of heteropatriarchy.

• Judging and hiring women because of their appearance (including attire), not their knowledge or experience.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited by law. There are two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo and a hostile work environment. 

• Quid pro quo sexual harassment is when a term or condition of employment is contingent upon the acceptance of unwelcome sexual behavior. 

• A hostile work environment arises when an employee experiences unwelcome physical or verbal harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or body type that is so severe or pervasive as to alter the employee's working conditions or create an abusive work situation.

• Sexual harassment’s illegality is only codified under the law in employment settings but is unacceptable in any setting, including mentorship, education, and other work-adjacent and professional environments.
  

• Derogatory or unwelcome comments about appearance, gender, or sexuality from owners, managers, colleagues, and customers.

• Tying tasting appointments/sales to unwanted sexual behavior. Linking mentorship or education to unwanted sexual behavior. 

• Pressuring colleagues, especially when there is a power imbalance, to engage in unwelcome sexual behavior, normalizing this behavior to the extent that victims are unaware of any wrongdoing. 

• Pressuring interns and workers to take their clothes off to perform any work related activity. 

• Continuing to work with/employ wine industry professionals who have perpetrated sexual harassment, assault, or discrimination. 

• Penalizing workers who have been sexually harassed or assaulted.

• Retaliation against people who make complaints about sexual harassment/assault. 

• Sexually taking advantage of intoxicated people; this is rape.

• Using intoxication as an excuse for non-consensual sex; this is rape.

Classism is an institutional, cultural, and individual set of practices and beliefs that assign differential value to people according to their socioeconomic status. 

• It is not just oppressing people because of their lack of financial resources; it’s the assumption of value and ability based on social class. 

• Classism assumes class immobility and operates to protect the dominant class groups. 

• Housing in major wine cities (such as the Bay Area and New York City) is costly, shutting out those who do not have the financial or social capital to live in these locals. 

• Certifying bodies such as the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Master of Wine Program, and the Wine and Spirits Education Trust are costly and beyond many wines professionals’ financial reach. In addition, criteria for passing are often subjective and based on classist ideals. 

• People who come from middle and upper-class backgrounds have greater access to capital - financial, social, and cultural - to start businesses and survive during economic downturns. 

• Resources, education, mentorship, and opportunities are offered to higher-paid and consumer-facing employees.

• The expectations of tasting expensive wines and travel to wine regions to advance in the industry place a substantial financial burden on wine industry professionals.

• Workspaces are not conducive to the physical needs of those with disabilities. 

• Assumptions made about what people cannot do that may not be true.

• Disabilities are seen as disadvantages rather than the perception that those who are differently-abled have unique talents and strengths. 

• Wine travel is inaccessible to people with disabilities. 

• Wine production is inaccessible to people with disabilities. 

• Price books and other written material necessary for wine professionals are not available in braille or non-visual platforms. 

• While wine industry production and other jobs require physical work, many do not, and we urge businesses to consider ways to create employment opportunities for differently-abled people. 

Mental health includes one’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health and wellness incorporate various health topics relating to a person’s physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social state.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. This definition incorporates alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence and can range from mild, moderate and severe.  (Alcohol Facts and Statistics. (2020, October). National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

• Compromises personal and professional judgment. This compromised judgment can exhibit in victimization of vulnerable people. 

• Normalizes unhealthy/excessive consumption of alcohol.

• Normalizes impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use.

Excessive consumption of alcohol in a workplace can lead to encouraging and covering up other abuses in the workplace.

• Marginalizing those who speak truth to power. 

• Workers fear speaking up when they experience or witness discrimination, mistreatment, and abuse. 

• Abusive social media conduct and/or retaliation based on social media content.

• Financial, social, or cultural capital are used to pressure people into not challenging those in power, discourage people from speaking up, or manipulate others for their own purposes.

• Causing and perpetuating mental health issues, including but not limited to feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety, alcohol/drug abuse, and suicide.

It's not uncommon for people to hold more than one marginalized identity. As humans, we are continually navigating the (often) uncomfortable challenges of those overlapping experiences.  Intersectional oppression occurs when different axes of oppression merge, such as race and gender, age and gender, and incarceration history, and race. We commonly see discrimination based on:

• Race (furthermore, colorism within race)

• Gender (extends to gender presentation/transphobia)

• Sexual Orientation

• Age

• Ability

• Beauty

• Socioeconomic Status/Class

• Immigration Status

• Ethnicity

• Religion

• Culture

• Incarceration History

• Educational Background

• Work History

• Body shaming

• Neurotypicity & Mental Health

Equity is providing the resources marginalized people need to survive and succeed.

• Equity is giving workers a say in business operations and a stake in profits.

• Equity is fairness in treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people while dismantling the obstacles that have stopped marginalized groups from participating fully.

• Equity is recognizing that an individual may need different accommodations to maintain fairness and access.

Environmental Justice is the right of all people and communities to equal protection, a healthy work environment, and equal enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. It recognizes that, due to racism and class discrimination, communities of color, low-income neighborhoods, and Indigenous nations communities are the most likely to be disproportionately harmed by toxic chemicals, exposures, economic injustices, and negative land uses, and the least likely to benefit from efforts to improve the environment.

• Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on lower-income people and people of color.  

• Environmental justice affirms the sacredness of the earth, ecological unity, the interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from environmental contamination and destruction. It is the movement's response to environmental racism.

Creating and supporting industry workplaces that perpetuate health and eradicate the flow of air, land, and water toxicities to communities downstream, into crop and tap, from animal bodies to human bodies, is crucial.