Burger King U.K.âs attempt to celebrate International Womenâs Day backfired.
The company tweeted on Monday, âWomen belong in the kitchen.â It followed with another tweet providing an explanation.
âIf they want to, of course. Yet only 20% of chefs are women. Weâre on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry by empowering female employees with the opportunity to pursue a culinary career,â the account added.
The company went on to announce it is âlaunching a new scholarship programme which will help female Burger King employees pursue their culinary dreams!â
https://twitter.com/BurgerKingUK/status/1368849339607638017
https://twitter.com/BurgerKingUK/status/1368877839072821253
Several Twitter users took to the platform to slam Burger King for the statement.
Burger King responded to a call from the account âKFC Gamingâ to remove the tweet.
âWhy would we delete a tweet thatâs drawing attention to a huge lack of female representation in our industry, we thought youâd be on board with this as well? Weâve launched a scholarship to help give more of our female employees the chance to pursue a culinary career,â the tweet reads.
https://twitter.com/BurgerKingUK/status/1368876219756916738
Another user suggested Burger King âbelongs in the trash.â The company replied, âWhat belongs in the trash is lack of female representation in our industry, thatâs why weâve created a scholarship to do something about it.â
https://twitter.com/BurgerKingUK/status/1368874625900371969
Burger King fired back at a user who questioned why someone at the company would think the tweet is a good idea.
âTo bring attention to the huge lack of female representation in the restaurant industry? Yeah we think itâs a good idea, thatâs why weâve created a scholarship to help give more of our female employees the chance to pursue a culinary career,â the tweet reads.
https://twitter.com/BurgerKingUK/status/1368878599554686979
The criticism did not end there.
https://twitter.com/davidmweissman/status/1368982274755166209
https://twitter.com/SteveHofstetter/status/1368985627472105472
A spokesperson for Burger King explained the thinking behind the tweet in a statement to Fox News, âOur tweet in the UK today was designed to draw attention to the fact that only a small percentage of chefs and head chefs are women.â
The spokesperson added, âIt was our mistake to not include the full explanation in our initial tweet and have adjusted our activity moving forward because weâre sure that when people read the entirety of our commitment, they will share our belief in this important opportunity.â
