New Zealand Activists Charge Men More for Their Morning Cup of Coffee

The YWCA in New Zealand has come up with a unique way to bring attention to the gender pay gap. For one day only, the organization set up a coffee cart on the lawn of Wellington’s Victoria University Law School campus and sold coffee drinks at different prices based on gender, with men being charged 10% more than female customers. The campaign — a part of the Demand Equal Pay movement — has been organized to highlight the fact that women in New Zealand get paid an average 10% less then men do.

Campaign organizer Lisa Fedyszyn had hoped that the event would rile men up and get them as outraged over the gender wage imbalance as women are and, while it’s had its intended effect on some, many others have missed the point and are ready to hop on the “MEAN DUMB FEMINISTS, HOW IS CHARGING US MORE EQUALITY???!?!” Crybaby Express. What critics are missing, of course, are the basic math skills that let this make sense. On average, women are always paying more for the exact same item because the price consumes a larger percentage of their more meager salaries.

Regardless of the fact, whiners gonna whine. Just imagine what they’d do if the injustice of the coffee cart wasn’t a completely voluntary (there are lots of other places to get coffee) experience, but an inhibiting reality of their day-to-day existence?

Lastly, I am well aware that making fun of dumb comments on a blog can be a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but — look! — I found this fish in a barrel and I’d really like for you to shoot it. From the comments on New Zealand’s Stuff:

“Men already pay more for coffee because on average they are more likely to buy a large one. This coffee campaign should seek to eliminate gender discrimination by making large coffees the same price as small. Does your commitment to eliminating discrimination stretch that far YWCA?”