From the unsettled bandwagon of women being subdued, suppressed and rejected comes a woman who wants to settle the score once and for all. If you plan on dining in Handsome Her Cafe in Melbourne, Australia and you also happen to be a male customer, then get ready to pay a little more than your female counterparts. Alex O’Brien, the proud owner of the cafe decided to raise awareness about the gap in gender pay by charging her male customers more than her female ones. In her vegan cafe, Alex decided to give the ladies priority seating as well.
The reason was simple: Alex wanted to give women visiting her cafe a better deal. Dubbed as the ‘Man Tax’ she charges every man that decides to foot the bill an 18% extra than what any woman would pay at her restaurant.
The cafe’s theme clearly indicates the idea behind this ‘discrimination’: ‘For women, By women.’ Alex hasn’t shut the doors for all men by taking this bold step. The surcharge isn’t compulsory for starters, and it’s in operation for one week per month.
A blackboard placed just outside the premises of the cafe states the House
House Rules, Rule #1: women have priority seating. Rule #2: men will be charged an 18% premium to reflect the gender pay gap (2016) which is donated to a women’s service. Rule #3 respect goes both ways.
Personally, we are in love with Rule #3.
Courtesy: Handsome Her (Facebook)
And of course Twitter had a thought or two on the fairness / injustice of it all:
Would LOVE everyones thoughts on this. My friends cafe in #Brunswick, Handsom Her – is for women by women AND an has a 18% gender tax! pic.twitter.com/tVSX3PO4q8
— Paige Cardona (@paigecardona) August 3, 2017
love it! Spaces for ladies is always great and highlighting the pay gap like this is harder for people to ignore.
— Fiona Cannon (@FiCan) August 3, 2017
I love it. Especially if it creates an environment where women feel safe
— Erin Riley (@erinrileyau) August 3, 2017
Pay gap def worth talking about but reckon much repulsive male vitriol comes from low-paid lads who can’t work out why they’re being blamed.
— Aidan Fawkes (@aidanfawkes) August 3, 2017
Some people however were not impressed and branded the move ‘hypocritical’, feeling it would only further widen the gender divide:
This sums my thoughts up perfectly. I get the idea behind it, but I can’t help but feel that it creates a bigger divide.
— Chris Lowry (@Lowry_16) August 3, 2017
If it was the other way around there would be riots in the streets!!!
— 7th Panzer Division (@CroPanzerKama) August 3, 2017
Not a fan. Whilst appreciate highlighting the issue of pay, creating an us and them is divisive. Flip this, and Twitter is in flames.
— Pauloncè (@PJS_84) August 3, 2017
I think if you want to fight for equality then surely treating everyone the same is the way to go
— Leroy Brown (@LeighroyH) August 3, 2017
Discrimination is illegal, regardless of the spurious intent. Do they hire male staff or do they discriminate there too?
— Stui Magpie (@StuiMagpie) August 3, 2017
Courtesy: Handsome Her (Facebook)
And of course there were those who absolutely rubbished the Gender Pay Gap as a myth. Wait, what?
Oh lord, not the pay gap myth again. It’s simple, work the same hours, have the same drive and take home the same pay…cripes.
— Rusty Shackleford (@Crabman_Joe) August 6, 2017
How would it go if reversed. What if i identify as woman?can i get priority service? No such thing as gender wage gap. Virtue signal much
— James (@James14299860) August 7, 2017
And despite all the hate and the gossip-mongering the cafe’s owner stepped up on Facebook and wrote in a post insisting that people were supporting the cause if the jam-packed cafe was any indication. It also insisted it wasn’t just women who were backing the idea.
Courtesy: Handsome Her (Facebook)
Alex chose a surcharge of 18 per cent to reflect the gender pay gap in Australia. As per the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in Australia, the full-time gender pay gap is around 18 percent which means, women earn only 82% of what an average working man earns.
Also Read: ‘First Time I Saw Me’: The viral hashtag that is talking about diversity onscreen
Are you with this move or against it? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
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