A new survey has revealed that almost fifty percent of men in Leeds were turned away from bars or nightclubs in the last year.
The survey, conducted by Grosvenor Casinos, showed that this was either because they were in too large a group, or because they did not have enough women in the group. Whilst the figure was 42% in Leeds, nationwide it showed that 6.3 million men across the UK were refused entry to venues whilst out at night.
Whilst this survey highlights the unfairness that men are facing when planning a night out as a group, it also shows how much money they are losing when being turned away. In Leeds alone, men were averaging an extra spend of £17.63 each time they had to leave the venue they wished to attend.
National Operations Director at Grosvenor Casinos, Debbie Husband, said: “groups of men who simply want to socialise and enjoy a night out with their friends are being unfairly turned away from pubs, bars and clubs because they are arriving with two or more friends.”
The survey also identified the most common tactics that men in Leeds were using to be allowed entry when out. 39% of men said that they split up into smaller groups on arrival, one quarter of men said that they brought their girlfriends out with them to balance the ratio of men and women, 18% asked women they met in the queue to join their group whilst they were let in, and 23% said they turned up earlier than they wished to just to make sure they were guaranteed entry to the venue.
A similar article addressed this issue back in April of last year, when many groups of men were complaining of being turned away from nightclubs, pubs and bars just because they had no women in their group.
The Equality Act of 2010 made it illegal to discriminate against someone for many different reasons, with gender included in this. Maria Chadwick, Discrimination Department Manager at Stephensons law firm, says that: “theoretically, if the sole reason for turning a group away is their gender, then you could potentially mount a claim”.
However, she does say that there is a possible defence for bar owners and bouncers on the doors because accepting large groups of men when there are already lots inside can put “the health and safety of the staff and the other patrons at risk.”
Despite this, they are “essentially discriminating against males without just cause”, says Ms Chadwick.
This is an issue that has clearly come to prominence over the last year, but for now Miss Chadwick says that “there’s nothing you can do, really-apart from put your head down and go somewhere else”– but how long will men continue to accept this?
Image: [BBC]