Café Charges An 18% 'Man Tax' To Reflect The Gender Pay Gap, Twitter Not Entirely Happy
It's never a convenient time to discuss big issues like gender inequality, but imagine being faced with it when you're trying to push through a line of people desperately trying to get their morning flat white.
This is the dilemma that male visitors to Handsome Her cafe in Melbourne are faced with. The Australian cafe is a safe space 'for women, by women' with three house rules.
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
1.Women have priority seating.
2. Men will be charged an 18% premium to reflect the gender pay gap (2016) which is donated to a women's service.
3. Respect goes both ways.
The vegan cafe's Man Tax has proved particularly controversial online after a friend of the owner, Paige Cardona, posted the rules online.
Before you rage too much, the Man Tax is only in place one week a month according to owner Alex O'Brien, and is optional. If you want some idea of how well it's going she admitted that so far no men have been willing to pay the tax.
Speaking to Seven News she said, "If men don't want to pay it, we're not going to kick them out the door. It's just an opportunity to do some good. We're bringing it [the gender pay gap] to the forefront of people's minds. I like that it is making men stop and question their privilege a little bit.
She added,"One of my friends who works for a not-for-profit women's service was talking about the pay gap and I thought it was a good idea, so we decided that one week every month we would charge men an 18 per cent premium, which we will donate."
Naturally Twitter had some opinions.
It is stereotyping and showing prejudices against Men and for Women. #StopIt #EqualityforAll #doublestandards
- Vapaus (@sakkoira) August 7, 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
If it was the other way around there would be riots in the streets!!!
- 7th Panzer Division (@CroPanzerKama) August 3, 2017
Divisive - surely they can understand that ostracising one sector of the community based on gender is not moving toward equality!
- General Soreness (@GenSorenessSC) August 3, 2017
As a man - no problem with it at all. No reason women shouldn't have their own spaces and be able to dictate what the rules are in them.
- Josh Elliott (@JoshElliott_29) August 3, 2017
Gyms restricted to women have had to do similar things to protect themselves against the inevitable lawyer bros
- Stuart Fazakerley (@stuartfaz) August 3, 2017
I think it's fine having a women only cafe. Plenty of other cafes around that men can frequent. The gender tax is unnecessarily provocative
- Carl Stevens (@stevens_carl) August 3, 2017
Dare we ask your thoughts?
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