Major Canadian Restaurant Group Pulls Back on Sexist Uniform Requirements

Cara Operations has removed its sexist dress code from chain restaurant Bier Markt.

With the tagline "Bier is Beautiful" and a vehement insistence upon calling beer "bier," you might think Canadian chain Bier Markt had its eyes on a sudsy prize. Unfortunately the restaurant's owner, Cara Operations, had other beauty on its mind when it went from a unisex uniform to a new dress code forcing female employees to wear revealing dresses while men could stick to jeans, a button-down, and Chucks. "Not all heroes wear capes," Bier Markt recently spouted on a picture of one of the skintight dresses in question.

After dozens of women pushed back and employee Tierney Angus hired a lawyer, though, CBC News reports that the company has finally reversed its position. In a letter to the news organization, Cara Operations said, "Female staff who prefer to wear the jeans, shirt and running shoe option may return the dress for a full refund." Because, yes, women were required to buy the objects of their oppression for $70 plus a $20 server belt.

Employment lawyer Barbara Green told CBC she believes the policy was a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which CBC explains was "amended in 2008 to specifically address this issue. It states employers should be able to prove 'any sex-linked differences in dress code are bona fide occupational requirements' and employers 'do not subject female employees to more difficult requirements than male employees and do not expect them to dress provocatively to attract clients.'"

Perhaps Bier Markt needs to begin carrying Cerveja Feminista, a Brazilian beer created to open dialogue about the raging sexism in the beer industry. Cara Operations executives should also brush up on a recent study suggesting that 90 percent of women in the restaurant industry have experienced sexism, along with some ideas of how to fix the problem.

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