Pamela Albornoz: from cooperative to behind the bar
Pamela Albornoz raised her two daughters alone in the Mugica neighborhood while looking for a job that would allow her to grow. What she found was something more: a professional path.
In the hospitality industry, a sector where gaps in access, leadership, and labor formalization for women persist, training and access to support networks can make a concrete difference. In this context, initiatives that promote women's economic inclusion seek to expand real opportunities for professional development.
Pamela's story is part of Learning for Life, the employability training program driven by Diageo, a global leader in spirits, as part of Spirit of Progress, its global plan aimed at strengthening communities and generating economic opportunities through the services sector. “I was looking for a job and found a professional path,” she summarizes.
She previously worked in a cooperative, in a field that was not her own. It was not a lack of desire that held her back, but something harder to name: a lack of confidence that she could do something different. "What changed the most in me was believing that I could do it,” she acknowledges today.
Technical training was the starting point, but not the only one. Learning how a real bar works, preparing drinks, serving customers, showed her that hospitality goes far beyond serving a drink. "It's about creating an experience. Providing good service is the heart of the job."
"The program gave me tools, but also confidence"
Today, Pamela is a bartender and barista at Malvón, Palermo, leads her own business in the neighborhood where she grew up, and has a dream in the making: to open her own café. In front of a soccer field, with a predominantly male audience, she is at the bar. "I am the boss and I feel comfortable in that role."
It was also during that experience that she understood the true meaning of hospitality: “It's not just about serving a drink, it's about creating an experience. Providing good service is the heart of the job.” Paving her way as a woman in a historically male sector was also part of the process. In front of a soccer field, with a predominantly male audience, she is now at the bar.
Learning by doing
The difference, she says, was in the practice. “It wasn't just theory. We learned how a real bar works, how to prepare drinks, how to serve. That prepares you for the real job market.”
The impact of the program was not only professional. “Before I was quieter, more reserved. Today I can communicate better and feel encouraged to lead,” she says. In addition to technical training, Pamela highlights the support she received. “I know I'm not alone. If I need guidance, they respond to me.” Thanks to that network, she accessed job interviews, industry contacts, and new training opportunities.
The journey also transformed her from within. From being quiet and reserved, she moved to communicating with confidence and daring to lead. And although the journey was personal, she knows she didn't do it alone.
A mother of two daughters and an entrepreneur, she summarizes her experience with a clear conviction: “My greatest achievement was materializing a dream. I would like my daughters to see that it is possible.”
A commitment to women's economic inclusion
Federico Mendoza, General Manager South LAC of Diageo, emphasizes that the program is part of a broader vision of sustainable impact. “At Diageo, we believe that business growth also depends on strengthening the sector we are part of. Promoting female participation in hospitality is not just a goal, it is a conviction. Through Learning for Life, we seek to break down structural barriers and expand opportunities for women who want to develop in the sector.”
On the occasion of International Women's Day, initiatives like Learning for Life aim to contribute to expanding women's economic independence in hospitality, generating concrete tools for more women to develop a career in the sector.