Gold Coast café owner fires back after receiving backlash over controversial wording for barista ad
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A cafe owner criticizes backlash over the controversial wording of her barista ad, saying she’s looking for someone “no drama,” “looks half decent” and “has some morals.”
- Gold Coast cafe hires ‘female barista’
- People claim wording excludes applicants
- C.Afe’s owner insisted that she is not sexist
A cafe owner has hit back at critics who attacked her controversial job ad looking for a barista.
Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, has been looking for a new barista since September.
Owner Georgina Rebecca Clothier initially wanted “experienced baristas” to apply, but on Tuesday she switched to calling specifically on female candidates.
The ad was shared on the cafe’s social media pages with many calling the ad exclusionary for wanting only women.
However, Ms Clothier defended the ad, insisting she never said male baristas can’t apply.
Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, shared an ad on the cafe’s Instagram page asking for experienced baristas (pictured)
The cafe owner faced backlash over the ad with many claiming the wording excluded applicants who did not identify themselves as women (Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab pictured)
“That’s where you, and some other people who commented on it, are getting it wrong,” Ms Clothier told the Gold Coast Newsletter.
“You can go on Facebook and people take everything the wrong way. If you are a sensitive person, this is how you will see it.
“Nowhere does it say ‘only’ female baristas.”
The unapologetic owner explained that the cafe has hired both male and female staff since it opened in 2018.
“I’m not sexist, if you and other people want to take it that way, it’s a personal preference for them,” Ms Clothier said.
“This is not coming from a bad place at all – I’m a person who owns a business and I’m trying to employ people from my local community and now I’m going to get criticized for it.”
Under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984, it is illegal to discriminate against a person because of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital status, marital status, pregnancy, or lactation.
The controversy comes a month after Ms Clothier complained on Instagram and Facebook about the difficulty of finding good staff.
Ms Clothier shared a detailed list of attributes a successful applicant will need to secure a job at the cafe, saying it was like looking for a “rare specimen.”
“Looking for someone who wants to stay, has no intention of going to college, who can commit to showing up five days a week,” Ms. Clothier wrote.
‘He lives a pretty normal life with no drama on a daily basis, he can smile, be genuine, have a funny bone in his body, looks half decent, drives a car, has some morals, is a team player, doesn’t want to sit on his phone every 10 minutes.
It comes after Ms Clothier complained about the difficulty of finding good staff and provided a detailed list of attributes an applicant needs to secure a job at the café (pictured)
“He takes pride in himself and his work, he can start at 5:30am, he’s available on Saturdays, it’s not fair, and most importantly, he can make coffee,” she added.
‘Is it too much (sic) to ask? I think so because there don’t seem to be many of these rare specimens out there. Please don’t waste my time because I’m over it.
Ms Clothier also insisted that it is not sexist, rejecting claims that the ad was “sex discrimination”.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab for comment.
Staff seen working at the Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab in Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast