Careers in Coffee Project

 

Vision

We want to engage with change by creating active opportunities for women in coffee to come together to share, learn, and elevate each other in the pursuit of growth. The Careers in Coffee Project (CICP) is a dedicated space for women who work (or want to work) in importing, roasting, retailing, education, consulting, and other sectors in coffee to find inspiration, information, pathways, and mentorships that expand their opportunities.

Mission

We envision the Careers in Coffee Project as a partnership between the Women in Coffee Project and other collaborators, such as the U.S. Chapter of the Specialty Coffee Association, to develop and execute three career-building components.

  • Quarterly colloquiums—with at least one annual in-person event—that allows women in coffee to create mentoring relationships, collaborate around career pathways, and discover opportunities to grow. 

  • An online forum hosted by WICP that provides ongoing opportunities to ask questions, get advice and collaborate to discover solutions to coffee career challenges. This could be supported by a job board that shines the light on employers who actively seek women to fill positions.

  • Annual scholarship(s) administered by WICP that provides transportation and lodging costs to allow women to participate in the annual in-person colloquium. We would seek additional scholarship money to provide opportunities for women to attend Specialty Coffee Association-certified courses.

Values

Although women play an indispensable role in every aspect of coffee, their pathways to grow, develop, and rise into roles of authority are not developed within the existing structure of the coffee industry. We believe that intentionality around supporting and advancing the career paths of women in coffee through access to education, inspiration, resources, and opportunities will make our industry more equal, sustainable, and regenerative.

 

IWD 2023: Accessing Education & Value

In 2022, we learned that roasters in purchasing countries and producers in growing countries have difficulties accessing educational and career development opportunities. This panel was one of our solutions to discuss obstacles to accessing those opportunities. Panelists include Elvira Conty Nieves, Maria Esther Thome-López, and Nicole Rosaly. 

First careers in coffee panel 12/5/22

We co-hosted the first virtual Careers in Coffee panel with Latinas in Coffee, a social movement on Instagram that highlights and encourages latinas in coffee to grow and succeed in all aspects of their identities.