"ladies go free"

Boo rahhh.

13/01/2004
Irish Independent
Ladies-in-free nights not fair on men, watchdog rules

THE COUNTRY'S night club owners have conceded that ladies' nights in discos, where women get in for free, are a thing of the past following a decision by the Equality Tribunal.

In a landmark ruling, an equality officer found that a night club discriminated against a Clareman on grounds of gender.

He had been asked to pay Eur6.35 entry fee to a Limerick night club on the same night that women were being allowed in for nothing.

Thomas O'Connor was asked to pay into the Icon Nightclub in Limerick on May 3, 2001. He said he complained to the doorman of the club that it was unfair and discriminatory that he had to pay while females were not charged.

At the time, the nightclub had a policy of free entry for women on Thursday nights up to 1am.

The equality officer ruled in his favour and ordered that he be offered free entry to the night club for seven nights of his choice.

From now on, where the practice (a throwback to the disco days of the 1980s) is still in evidence, nightclub owners will be sure to set about re-examining their admissions policies.

Robbie Fox, owner of Reynard's nightclub in Dublin and spokesman for the Irish Nightclubs Owners' Association, said he believed the days of the "ladies go free" were over as times, and the legislative framework, have changed considerably in recent years.

Since the introduction of the Equal Status Act, an argument such as that made by Mr O'Connor could always have been made, he said.

"It's sad and true that we will have that argument every time," said Mr Fox, adding that the Equal Status Act had made huge differences to night club owners.

"I don't think there's a way around it. As far as that issue is concerned, ladies' night is a thing of the past," he said.

While he could understand the logic of having a nightclub full of girls - as this would be sure to attract males - times had changed, and this could work the other way around, too, he said.

While the Equality Officer in the Limerick case found that a compensation award would be appropriate, Mr O'Connor said money was not the issue at stake and that he had agreed with the nightclub that he would settle for just Eur10 in compensation.

Mr O'Connor said he had taken the case to raise awareness of the issue of discrimination and highlight the fact that men could suffer from it.