Fury as retailer celebrates International Women’s Day by offering discounts on FRYING PANS
A POPULAR Singapore retailer came under fire on Thursday for "trivialising" International Women's Day by cooking up a promotion offering cut-price frying pans.
A retailer sparked outrage after offering discount frying pans to mark International Women's Day
Upscale department store chain TANGS marked the day, which falls on March 8 and is observed across the globe by women pushing for greater equality, by discounting a range of items, including two frying pans.
Other deals included beauty products, high heels and shavers.
The retailer sent out a promotional email to customers with the £22 frying pan offers listed at the top, according to Marketing magazine. The deals were still listed on TANGS website on today.
Campaigner Jolene Tan said the promotion appeared to overlook the struggle of women in the city-state, who are pushing for better representation in company boardrooms and battling laws which critics say allow marital rape.
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The upmarket department store TANGS also had offers on beauty products and high heels
"International Women's Day is a day to honour the struggles of women for equality, safety and respect," said Tan, head of advocacy and research at Singapore's Association of Women for Action and Research.
Too many retailers present it as a consumerist event to be trivialised
"Sadly, too many retailers present it as a consumerist event to be trivialised through sales and discounts rather than attention to the serious issue of gender equality."
An executive at the corporate communications department said she could not comment.
Singapore is ranked 55 out of 144 countries in the Global Gender Gap 2016, an annual report by the World Economic Forum which measures how women fare in areas such as economic and political participation, health and education.
The store have been accused of trivialising World Women's Day
Only 8 percent of board directors in Singapore are women and they are paid 43 percent less than their male counterparts, according to Tan citing previous research.
TANGS is most recognisable for its flagship store at the swanky shopping district of Orchard in downtown Singapore. It also has outlets in neighbouring Malaysia.