- Date:
- 16 Oct 2012
- By:
- Søren Eeg Hansen
By offering free entrance for guests showing up in stilettos, a night club fell foul of the Danish Gender Equality Act. The fact that several men had actually showed up in stilettos was irrelevant as the initiative was mainly aimed at women.
By offering free entrance for guests showing up in stilettos, a night club fell foul of the Danish Gender Equality Act. The fact that several men had actually showed up in stilettos was irrelevant as the initiative was mainly aimed at women.
Businesses which provide services to the general public are not allowed to discriminate against men or women. This principle is laid down in the Danish Gender Equality Act. But does it qualify as gender discrimination when both genders can take advantage of the offer and, in fact, do so?
A night club was offering free entrance for guests who showed up in stilettos. The offer was for men and women alike, and although the offer was primarily used by women, several men had decided to take advantage of the offer as well.
Even so, the complainant argued that stilettos are ladies' shoes and that the offer therefore constituted gender discrimination.
The Danish Board of Equal Treatment sided with the complainant, holding that the offer was in all essentials aimed at women. Accordingly, it constituted illegal discrimination under the Danish Gender Discrimination Act.
Norrbom Vinding notes
- that the decision shows that although an offer may be taken advantage of and, in fact, has been taken advantage of by both genders, it will be contrary to the Danish Gender Equality Act if the offer is in all essentials aimed at one gender.
