Strong women hold their own at Oktoberfest

DW (English)

People around the globe flock to Germany for Oktoberfest. More and more women are managing beer tents, driving bicycle rickshaws, and operating the cranes used to build the fairground. They’re running their own shows at the male-dominated festival.

Transcript

00:00Munich's Oktoberfest, the world's largest folk festival traditionally dominated by men,

00:06but increasingly women are taking over typically male jobs, like tent managers, or rickshaw

00:14drivers.

00:15Stop that, do that again and I'll kick you out.

00:22Equality at last, or absolute madness.

00:26The energy is palpable.

00:28Oktoberfest is the highlight of Silja Steinberg's year.

00:32She manages one of the festival's biggest tents, and it's about to officially open.

00:39This may look like a leisurely carriage ride, but Steinberg is full of adrenaline.

00:44Almost 10,000 people are waiting for her.

00:47Tent managers are powerful figures here, and they're typically all men.

00:54Nobody could have imagined it 30 years ago.

00:58Female tent managers at Oktoberfest, that's changed.

01:01But we women who do it grew up with it.

01:07They've made it just in time.

01:11And now?

01:13My dears, welcome to Wiesn 2024 at the beautiful Hofbräu tent.

01:29Time now to tap the first keg.

01:35From this moment on, the hosts can serve their special Oktoberfest beer.

01:39Of the 14 main beer tents, only a few are run by women.

01:52Women like Steinberg.

01:53It's a completely different world to your normal pub, where you serve 365 days a year.

02:01It goes from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye, and then back to zero, although it never

02:06really goes back to zero.

02:08But in terms of the stress level...

02:11Six million people celebrate here every year.

02:14At Oktoberfest, gender roles take centre stage, with dirndls and lederhosen.

02:19Flirting seems almost as integral as the beer itself, but it can quickly turn into drunken

02:25harassment.

02:28When you walk around, it's like a free-for-all.

02:30You do have to be on your guard.

02:33A hand on the butt is nothing unusual.

02:35Someone tried to grope her.

02:37A man just came up and just grabbed her ass.

02:40He put his hand up my butt.

02:42Alcohol and men, it's always the same.

02:45For women, it can become an unsafe environment.

02:48We meet Rickshaw Rosie in front of the festival grounds.

02:52There are an estimated 200 rickshaw drivers in Munich during Oktoberfest.

02:56Some of them are women.

02:59Getting along with drunk and sometimes unpleasant people, while somehow managing to stay cool

03:05and be nice, it's always a challenge.

03:12Rosie's bright lights draw in passengers.

03:15Off we go!

03:18Rosie is self-employed and owns her own rickshaw.

03:22Hi, how are you?

03:25Yeah, I can take three of you.

03:28It's already clear before they set off, this trip will be a challenging one.

03:33You've got great legs.

03:36Watch out.

03:38Legs up.

03:40Don't drop down your pants.

03:43Controlling these passengers isn't easy.

03:46Let's go.

03:49Oh, he's getting off again.

03:53What a guy.

03:56Are you going to behave?

03:59Do you want to continue on?

04:02Then get in.

04:04Inside, they start vandalising the rickshaw.

04:07Do that again and I'll kick you out.

04:10Are you going to cut it out?

04:13I'm kicking you out now.

04:16Finally, they arrive.

04:20Take care, you rascal.

04:25Does that happen a lot?

04:28At this time of night, yes.

04:31That does happen.

04:34One way or another, things get broken every Oktoberfest.

04:37Back at the Hofbräu tent, it's shortly before closing time, but still packed.

04:42Silja Steinberg says you have to know how to take some things

04:46and being a woman can have its advantages.

04:51It is kind of sweet when I come in and my security says,

04:55oh, the boss, and lifts me up or something.

04:58They probably wouldn't do that with a man.

05:01It's really sweet how they treat and value me as a woman.

05:05As a woman among many men.

05:08In her position, Steinberg hasn't had to put up with the kind of harassment

05:12many of the female visitors experience.

05:18I have to say, this job was made for me.

05:22I love it all, the guests, the staff, the organizing.

05:26We make people happy. You can tell, and that's lovely.

05:31Another perk, the millions she generates in sales with her tent.

05:36Others at Oktoberfest earn more of a financial cushion for the year ahead.

05:42I'm a night owl, to be honest.

05:46That's why I don't really mind being out and about at night.

05:50And you really do experience the craziest stories at night.

05:55Be it the stories, the profits, or just plain fun,

05:59there are many reasons why women like Rosi return to work at Oktoberfest year after year.

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