EDMONTON — A group of students in Edmonton is fed up with sexist behaviour in the service industry.
Four members of a women’s studies class at the University of Alberta launched a site, F.E.D.U.P. YEG (Feminist Eatery Database Undercover Project), which encourages users to share their experiences with sexism and evaluate restaurants in the industry. “Our group was late to start, but then we had a lecture on gender inequality in the workplace, and a lot of girls started sharing stories about horrible things they had faced while working as servers,” Tempo Sabatier told CBC.
The site draws attention to issues with sex, gender and race in the service industry. Testimonials speak of women who were told they were paid less because they weren’t as pretty as the other girls and some who were told to hike up their skirts. Overall, many were treated with disrespect by male managers and employees.
The group has created a questionnaire asking users to evaluate foodservice establishments for sexist practices. “We aim to provide a comprehensive and accessible database of restaurant, café and eatery reviews based off of a thorough checklist that anyone can bring along on an outing if they wish,” reads the site, which has received more than 27,000 hits.