Freepour Espresso cafe criticised over female-only job ad in Marrickville

By Peter Vincent For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 04:50 BST, 25 September 2023 | Updated: 04:50 BST, 25 September 2023

A trendy café has sparked outrage after posting a job advertisement for women only and asking them to send in a photo of themselves.

Freepour Espresso at Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west, posted the ad for a ‘female fulltime barista/allrounder’ to a jobs board on Facebook.

The ad contained four main criteria the female-only applicants have to comply with, leaving no room for male applicants.

The applicant had to submit a photo, resume, their availability and ‘recent photo of your latte art’.

The successful woman would be hired to make ‘coffee and cold drinks’, keep the coffee station ‘clean and tidy’ and take orders ‘when necessary’.

A trendy Sydney café has sparked outrage online over job ads asking for a female baristas to provide photos to get work making coffee. Pictured: stock image of a woman making coffee

A trendy Sydney café has sparked outrage online over job ads asking for a female baristas to provide photos to get work making coffee. Pictured: stock image of a woman making coffee

The other requirements for the 'barista/allrounder' role were more reasonable: your resume, when you're available and a 'recent photo of your latte art'

The other requirements for the 'barista/allrounder' role were more reasonable: your resume, when you're available and a 'recent photo of your latte art'

The other requirements for the ‘barista/allrounder’ role were more reasonable: your resume, when you’re available and a ‘recent photo of your latte art’

In return they’d get ‘great opportunities’, get ‘competitive rates and long stable shifts’ and be able to work with ‘cutting edge equipment’.

The job ad was reposted to Reddit where it sparked a heated debate.

Several commenters believed asking women to provide photos for a barista role bordered on creepy.

Others questioned whether a cafe was allowed to advertise a role for women only.

‘They’ll need to hire a barrister too now,’ one person joked.

Others pointed out such requirements are common when working overseas, especially in Asia.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency warns it is ‘unlawful’ to advertise positions specifically for men or women.

‘Gender-coded language in job advertisements may not only deter individual women from applying for certain jobs, it can also reinforce wider social beliefs about who ‘belongs’ in those jobs and who does not,’ the agency’s website reads. 

In return they'd get 'great opportunities', get 'competitive rates and long stable shifts' and be able to work with 'cutting edge equipment'

In return they'd get 'great opportunities', get 'competitive rates and long stable shifts' and be able to work with 'cutting edge equipment'

In return they’d get ‘great opportunities’, get ‘competitive rates and long stable shifts’ and be able to work with ‘cutting edge equipment’

‘Yup, very common in my home country. It’s even normal to see a job ad specify the applicant’s max age (25-30 for example) and say ‘must be good-looking’ lol especially in customer facing roles,’ one person replied.

‘I’m glad I’m not there anymore.’

A third added: ‘The best way to fix this is to buy your coffee from somewhere that makes good coffee. Regardless of what they look like.’ 

Daily Mail Australia contacted Freepour Espresso for comment. 

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