So sexist job adverts probably aren’t unheard of – or even uncommon – in Australia (remember the Nazi sparky with the infamous Gumtree listing?), but this particular sexist job ad has another layer of meta-weirdness to contend with: it’s apparently been written and distributed by a disgruntled ex-employee in order to exact revenge on the business that fired him.
At least, that’s what Andrew McNamara, owner of Sydney burger joint The Hanging Ladder alleges.
Printed ads seeking female waitstaff for the cafe have appeared on dozens of trees and electricity poles in Balmain and Rozelle this week. More than simply advertising a position at the cafe that does not exist, the ads are like… super sexist (not to mention grammatically challenged):
“Looking for a experienced waitress that could just as easy be in a bikini on beach spinning heads.“Must be comfortable around Tradie’s in a skirt and a top your choice but black.Pay is generous and cool place chilled boss and manager it’s me hah”
McNamara has adamantly disavowed having anything to do with the ad, which has drawn a lot of complaints. He says the cafe has already taken a “big hit” – that in fact, thanks to the posters, business has “halved in less than a week.”
He told the Inner West Courier:
“As a small business it really hurts. I’ve taken down all the posters I could find and we’re pretty much having to go into damage control. Everyone I’ve spoken to about it has said ‘that’s disgusting’, and I agree.”
As for who the culprit might be, McNamara has no doubts.
“I know exactly who it is. It’s an old staff member who I fired at the start of this week and he’s now gone and done this. It’s completely sexist and incorrect. I don’t know why he’s done it but it’s not the view of this company at all.”
In a sterling example of how best to deal with this kind of shit, the Hanging Ladder is going to organise a free coffee day for women in the next few weeks, “to compensate for what has happened.“
Waitresses with head-spinning superpowers: sorry to get your hopes up.
Source and image: News.com.au.
