I was sitting in class on Thursday with a tad less enthusiasm than the owners of the hands shooting up in the air during a discussion when suddenly, the topic shifted to the Shark Club. I had never heard of the Shark Club before that day, but I was intrigued when I learned that an ex-bartender had filed a sex-discrimination complaint against the company.
I found out that the ex-employee, K. Bil, “faced indecent proposals” because of the dress code she says she was required to wear. Let’s face it: sex sells. This business model is nothing new. My mind automatically compared the Shark Club to Hooters. Both businesses are famous for their predominantly young and attractive female servers, male customers, and suggestive “uniforms.” The only difference was that Hooters’ employees do not cry discrimination. Strangely enough, nor do many other female bartenders, who I’m sure have received their fair share of sex-discrimination when working in a social environment where alcohol is present (read: very drunk males.)
Perhaps it’s because these ladies understand that working as a Hooters waitress or a bartender will attract unwanted attention. Alternatively, a career at McDonald’s will guarantee that their uniforms will not be the target of male customers’ fantasies. Furthermore, Bil never voiced her concerns or utilized the numerous types of support offered by the Shark Club chain, which included an employee hotline.
Filing a complaint would have been an appropriate solution if Bil was fired for refusing to dress accordingly. Instead she chose to quit because of an entirely different- and contradicting to her complaint- reason.
Bil ultimately quit working at the Shark Club, she said, because she was not getting the good shifts that she believed were going to the most attractive female employees.