Gender issues are front and centre – and people are getting involved in all kinds of ways.
Last night, a bar in Brooklyn called The Way Station hosted a ladies’ night with a whole new, progressive twist.
On July 7 (7/7) the bar sought to draw attention to the gender pay gap that exists in the US by charging women just 77 per cent of their bar tab. The “77” comes from the fact that – on average – American women make about 77 to 78 cents for every dollar that men earn.
So, bar’s owner, Andy Heidel, decided to level the playing field for a night – and in doing so, he made international headlines.
He also inspired an important dialogue with beer drinkers and cocktail consumers in what became the fully packed bar.
It turns out, however, that not everyone was too trilled by the initiative.
Some men’s rights activists claimed that the deal discriminated against men and threatened to boycott the bar. Heidel remained unfazed by the threats.
For those in the dark, the US census bureau found that in 2013, women were making $10,800 less a year than men. Or, only 78 cents for every dollar a man earns. In 2012, this figure was 77 cents.
Critics have claimed that the figures reflect a wage disparity due to women’s choice of careers – things like social work, health care, and education – which tend to pay less.
“The stats I have researched are based on the same jobs held by women and men,” Heidel said. “I’m sure if you took the national average, all the male CEOs would skew the numbers even more.”
Heidel hopes to make the event an annual thing.
Aside from the new-age ladies’ night, you may want to check out the bar the next time you’re in Brooklyn regardless; the “Doctor Who”-themed saloon is a sci-fi junkie’s dream. It regularly hosts board game nights, cartoon movie madness, and eclectic musical acts.
In the meantime, perhaps some of our local business owners should take a cue from our friends south of the border; a recent study revealed that the gender pay gap in Canada is twice the global average.
And no, that’s not something to be proud of.
The ‘good news’ is that we’re doing better than the Americans: in Canada, women earned almost $0.82 to every $1 earned by men.
And – should anyone step up to the plate – we won’t decline only having to pay 82 per cent of our bar tab, thank you very much. After all, August second is coming up pretty soon…
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