EABL in Mission to Uplift Status of Women in Sports
East African Breweries Plc Managing Director Jane Karuku
East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has reiterated its commitment to promote diversity and inclusivity through supporting women in sports.
Speaking on the sidelines of the currently ongoing Magical Kenya Ladies Open in Vipingo Ridge, Kilifi County, East African Breweries Plc MD Jane Karuku said that the company will continue to support women’s sports as it seeks to entrench the values of diversity and inclusivity in the communities within which it operates.
EABL is among the companies currently striving to catapult female athletes and teams into the stratosphere dominated by their male counterparts. Golf, in particular, has long been considered to be a masculine sport, a perception that EABL seeks to address.
“EABL remains committed to supporting local sports as a way of supporting the communities where we operate, and also as a way of connecting with our consumers. The Magical Kenya Ladies Open is particularly special as we get to support women in golf which is a male-dominated sport. This week we have experienced great golf, with our young Kenyan lady professionals proving that we have the talents and skills to propel Kenyan golf to the next level,” said Karuku.
She added:
“We have been supporting male golfers through the Kenya Open for the last 10 years and now we are starting to be big on women’s golf. The reason we are doing that is that we want to improve gender representation in sports.”
“We need to start harnessing this talent very early in life so that we can build a culture of inclusivity in society. We are known to be very good in athletics because we start nurturing our talents very early. The same principle can be applied in golf and I am certain we can make incredible progress on that front,” added Karuku.
The Company which is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year recently announced a Ksh. 25.5 million sponsorship towards the currently ongoing 2022 Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Through its premium spirit brand Johnnie Walker, EABL aims to strengthen its commitment to supporting women’s involvement in golf. This is part of the company’s commitment to supporting gender diversity and inclusivity as it aims to help build a more inclusive society.
The company is currently implementing strategies aimed to achieve greater inclusivity by 2030 as spelled out in Diageo’s 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' plan.