Anna Sebastian has relaunched Celebrate Her as a non-profit organisation aimed at elevating female talent in the hospitality industry.
The Artesian bar manager, who debuted the platform with a series of events in Autumn 2019, is now aiming to secure funding from industry partners to offer financial support to women looking to develop their careers in hospitality.
“It’s still a male dominated industry – there are very few women in high up positions in hospitality,” she told Class. “How many female bar owners, managers or head bartenders are there? Not many.
"When I was entering the industry, I wish I’d had more professional guidance and financial support. Our grants will be issued to women wanting to further themselves; that might be a for a WSET course, accountancy or marketing training, perhaps even qualifications in areas such as graphic design or distilling."
Sebastian said she hoped that through access to professional qualifications and guidance, more female hospitality professionals would climb the ranks, inspiring others around them.
She has set a target of securing £50,000 in donations in order to issue the first round of grants this June. “The long-term plan is to offer grants to 30 people a year so they can develop personally and professionally.”
The beneficiaries will be part of a network which Sebastian hopes could be utilised for “events, market research and recruitment”.
For International Women’s Day, Celebrate Her has collaborated with Glenfiddich 12 whisky to create the cocktail Golden Era, which has been sent to more than 100 individuals in UK hospitality to collectively raise a glass in celebration.