Move over Johnnie, Diageo's Jane Walker is here

In an attempt to promote gender quality and draw more women towards scotch, spirits company Diageo is launching its limited  US edition whiskey featuring a female version of Johnnie Walker's iconic logo according to media reports. Called Jane Walker, it will have a striding woman on the label rather than the traditional top-hatted man.
In an interview, Stephanie Jacoby, Vice President of Johnnie Walker said, “Scotch as a category is seen as particularly intimidating by women. It’s a really exciting opportunity to invite women into the brand.”

Jane Walker will appear on 250,000 bottles in the US market in March. For every bottle produced, Diageo is donating a dollar to organisations that promote women, including Monumental Women and She Should Run. While this batch of bottles is a limited run, this isn’t the last of Jane.

“We really see Jane as the first female iteration of our striding-man icon,” she said. “We like to think of our striding man and our striding woman as really walking together going forward.”

Diageo, based in London, is eyeing to increase female representation internally. Its board will be 50 per cent women in April, Jacoby said. The company also is calling on advertising agencies to put forward at least one female director as part of any work pitch.