Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1532529
48 STiR coffee and tea | 2025 Issue 1 Spring (Mar/Apr/May) W omen empowerment, more often than not, is associated with trail- blazers. This story involves six women banning together to en- hance the coffee industry through empowerment and connection. Two decades later, the International Women's Coffee Alliance (IWCA) has 35 chapters, with more than 16,000 members from both coffee-producing and coffee-consuming countries. As a global organization, IWCA achieves empowerment through leader- ship development, strategic partnership, and amplified market stability. Over the years, it has facilitated organizational partnerships with other multi-stake- holder organizations, including the African Fine Coffees Association, Inter- national Coffee Organization, National Coffee Association, Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Alliance, International Labor Organization, and International Trade Center. Sharon Riechers, IWCA President, shares that "IWCA will move forward in 2025 continuing our progress on impact pathways of developing impactful programs by strengthening our global team, prioritizing communication of who we are, what we do, and how we do it to engage with our stakeholders, and executing programs for our chapter members and beneficiaries in a man- ner designed for chapter long-term sustainability. Each of our pathways helps IWCA's mission of uniting our chapters through our global network and sup- porting their work, and the additional pathway of research and advocacy on issues relating to women in the international coffee community." Equality and Equity It's imperative that a women's network exists in a male-dominated industry such as coffee. A 2018 insight report of the International Coffee Organi- zation states that "Coffee plays an important role in the economy of many tropical countries by providing livelihoods for an estimated 25 million rural Perspective by Gold Quetulio The 2023 International Women's Coffee Alliance Convention in Ethiopia marked the 20th anniversary of IWCA and brought together the international coffee community, including leaders from the global chapter network representing 33 countries. Empowering Women in Coffee households. The performance of the sector could be enhanced by strengthening the women who represent a crucial resource along the entire coffee value chain through their role as farmers, laborers, and entrepreneurs but face several constraints in accessing production factors." Likewise, the Food and Agriculture Organiza- tions of the United Nations' 2023 report on The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems estimates that if half of small-scale producers benefited from devel- opment interventions that focused on empowering women, it would significantly raise the incomes of an additional 58 million people and increase the resil- ience of an additional 235 million people. Female baristas compete and showcase their latte art skills at the Women's Latte Art Throwdown at the Commune Cafe in Makati City, Philippines.