Gender inequality is a big issue in mass production industries. When we identified that the gender gap in our breweries was increasing due to a law restricting to only 12.5 kilos the maximum weight that women can lift at work, we worked on a brief looking to close the gender gap in the Colombian beer industry and increase the representation of women in traditionally male-dominated jobs.

To do so, Club Colombia and ABInBev created the world's first beer production line operated exclusively by women. This initiative highlights the brand's values regarding gender representation, demonstrating its commitment to diversity and inclusion. It also showcases the innovative use of technology to overcome gender barriers and enable women to reach their full potential in a field historically dominated by men. The campaign's goal was to inspire and motivate more women to seek opportunities in the industry that were previously inaccessible to them.

In Colombia, the unemployment rate for women is 60% higher than that of men, due among other causes to a law that restricts to only 12.5 kilos the maximum weight that Colombian women can lift at work versus men who are allowed to lift up to 25 kilos.

This excludes them from job opportunities in factories and production plants which widens the labor gap between men and women. Despite every obstacle, Colombian women always stand out for their courage to achieve great things, which is why Club Colombia and Bavaria joined forces to close the gender gap by hacking Colombian law. From the purpose of Club Colombia to promote Colombianness as a force that achieves great things to Bavaria's commitment to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion we managed to break the stereotypes that for years were maintained in the brewing industry.

We created "FORTALEZA", the first mass-production line of beer operated by women in the world.

We replaced all the manual equipment in our breweries, so that technology would allow them to lift the weight that the law did not allow them to lift before.

We trained women who never imagined being part of this world and turned them into experts: mechanics, operators, electricians, brewers.

And for the whole country to know them, we launched the first batch of 40,000 beers made 100% by women in a commemorative package that served as a vehicle for more women to register and apply for new job opportunities and training in our plant.

The "Fortaleza" initiative, created by beer brand Club Colombia from AB-InBev, established the world's first mass production line of beer exclusively operated by women. The campaign addressed the gender gap in the brewing industry and the high unemployment rate for women. The target audience was women over 25 years old seeking employment in operational positions. To gather data, Bavaria partnered with its corporate governance team to explore alternative technology solutions to reduce the gender pay gap in its plants. The idea was relevant for women in Colombia and caught the attention of several media outlets, improving the company's reputation in the country. The commemorative packaging of the first batch of 40,000 beers made 100% by women served as a vehicle for more women to register and apply for new job opportunities and training. The campaign's innovative and scalable approach could be implemented in other parts of the world facing similar

For International Women's Day, we designed and launched the first inclusive brewing production line in the world which, supported by technology and adapted equipment can be operated 100% by women without exceeding the maximum load of 12.5KG required by law. We hired and trained female personnel to start up this new line and told the world about this great innovation with a campaign where the female operators were the protagonists while launching and selling a special edition pack with the first 40,000 beers produced by Club Colombia on the inclusive line and a QR code inviting women to apply for job offers at our breweries and a technical training program specifically developed in partnership with the Colombian national government (SENA).

Currently, 2 more Fortaleza lines have been opened and the goal for 2026 is to have at least one in each one of AB-InBev breweries in LATAM.

Bavaria Ab-inbev entered the Top 3 PAR AEquales Ranking of the most equitable companies in Colombia and the Top 6 in LATAM (position #21 to #3 and #6 post-campaign and project). Currently, 2 more inclusive FORTALEZA lines have opened and the goal for 2026 is to have one on each of Bavaria's breweries.


Also, over 2,500 women registered for our educational technical program, more than 20,000 units of commemorative packaging and 40,000 beers sold out in major cities, 303M COP in credibility value of free press + influencer marketing volunteer (PR 2.0), 81% positive + neutral sentiment and more than 202M Impressions (YT+ FB) and a total reach of 1,898,205 people

In terms of Women's Brand Equity from H2 2021 to H1 2022, an increase of: +0.9 Brand Power (9.8 to 10.7), +5.9 Brand Love (53.2 to 59.1) and +1.9 Brand Consideration (73.7 to 75.6)

The idea was created based on the company's commitment to gender equality in the Colombian beer industry. In Colombia, the unemployment rate for women is 60% higher than that of men, due among other causes to the Colombian labor legislation: Resolution 2400/79. Articles 388, 399, 390 to 393, that restrict to only 12.5 kilos the maximum weight that Colombian women can lift at work versus men who are allowed to lift up to 25 kilos.