US craft brewer Boulevard embroiled in sexual harassment claims
USA | Kansas City’s iconic Boulevard brewery has been rocked by accusations of sexual harassment. Claims of harassment first surfaced in late January 2021 in a Reddit post.
The fallout was swift. Boulevard’s long-time executive and president, Jeff Krum, resigned on 27 January, along with two other high-ranking employees. The following day, founder John McDonald, 67, temporarily took control of operations and vowed to fix things. He acknowledged serious failings, but did not want to believe his brewery had a systemic cultural problem.
However, 16 former and current Boulevard employees, who were interviewed by the local newspaper, The Star, said “an intense and insular culture helped to breed a toxic workplace that is especially unsafe for women – ranging from a “boys’ club” atmosphere, to gender discrimination, to sexual harassment and assault.” They also said management knew about these issues but refused to address them for years.
Boulevard was founded by Mr McDonald in 1989 and has since expanded into one of the country’s largest craft breweries. It was bought by Belgium’s brewer Duvel Moortgat in 2013. The company, which had a beer output of 200 000 hl (2019), currently employs 209 people, including 75 women.
Management looked the other way
By the time one woman called the Kansas City police to report sexual assaults, she felt she had exhausted her options at Boulevard. Per local media, she had already gone to Boulevard’s Human Resources department several times to complain about a male co-worker, who showered her with old Boulevard memorabilia, beers and his own T-shirt, which he asked her to wear to bed. As he texted her incessantly, the woman grew increasingly uncomfortable with the man, who had worked for Boulevard since its earliest days. To many of the women at Boulevard, he was widely known for trying to pursue inappropriate relationships with young women.
Amid a backlash on digital media, the company released a statement in which it acknowledged the widespread issue. It started with “We are sorry.”
“We have heard accounts of personal experiences that have shaken us to our core,” the statement said. “It has become undeniably clear that harassment did in fact occur, clear that we have issues – serious issues that we have failed to address.”
