ABinBev and Club Colombia, Colombian beer pioneers, launched the FORTALEZA campaign to address the gender gap in the brewing industry in Colombia. The campaign aimed to reduce the 60% unemployment rate among women by creating the world's first mass-production beer line entirely operated by women. The brand recognized that the industry was male-dominated, and restrictive laws limited women's weight lifting capacity, excluding them from job opportunities.

The FORTALEZA campaign's primary objective was to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, breaking down social barriers and stereotypes through positive social change. It required overhauling the manufacturing process to make it possible for women to operate the beer line and a new recruitment and training approach.

Apart from reducing the gender gap and providing job opportunities for women, the campaign aimed to increase efficiency and productivity, benefiting the company's bottom line by reducing costs and increasing brand reputation. Ultimately, the FORTALEZA campaign succeeded in transforming the way the brand operates, creating a transformative initiative that has the potential to bring about positive social change while also benefiting the company's bottom line.

In order to obtain data on the gender pay gap in our industry, we partnered with ABinBev’s corporate governance team. This collaboration allowed us to explore various technological solutions to reduce the pay gap in our plants. Ultimately, the partnership resulted in the development of an inclusive production line, as well as a campaign and packaging designed to raise awareness among women of new job opportunities.

The campaign required a significant transformation of the manufacturing process, which called for ingenuity and innovation in solution design. The campaign team tested and experimented with different solutions to ensure efficiency and safety. The brand also provided training and opportunities for women who had never before considered working in the industry, demonstrating a creative approach to planning and execution.

Overall, this campaign is an excellent example of breakthrough thinking in its approach to transforming the industry and promoting diversity and inclusion. The innovation and ingenuity in the solution design enabled the first mass-production beer line to be entirely operated by women, a world-first achievement. This campaign positioned the brand as a leader in operational transformation and promoted social progress, inspiring other plants to create more production lines and areas operated by women.

Fortaleza's initiative had a significant creative impact on customers, employees, and other stakeholders. By providing a positive and inclusive work environment, the initiative had a material positive difference in people's lives and work. Employees reported feeling more engaged and empowered, resulting in higher productivity and better quality work. Customers responded positively to the company's commitment to sustainability, which helped build trust and loyalty.

The initiative made a material positive difference to people's lives and work by creating new job opportunities for women, promoting awareness of gender equality, and demonstrating that the company values its employees and customers regardless of gender. The development of an inclusive production line entirely operated by women was a significant breakthrough in the beer industry, demonstrating Fortaleza's innovative and ingenious solution design.

Overall, Fortaleza's initiative was a success, demonstrating the brand's commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. The creative impact on customers, employees, and other stakeholders was significant, and the evidence shows that the initiative made a material positive difference to people's lives and work. The quality of execution of the creative vision was high, resulting in a sustainable and socially responsible product that resonated with consumers.

ABinBev 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 ABinBev'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)

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, excluding 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 ABinBev joined forces to close the gender gap by hacking Colombian law: creating AB-InBev's first Inclusive production line in order to attract more women to work in operational positions mostly occupied by men. From the purpose of Club Colombia to promote Colombianness as a force that achieves great things to ABinBev's commitment to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion we managed to break the stereotypes that for years were maintained in the brewing industry