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18 January 2013

A ban on Ladies Nights

This is political correctness gone too far. Although several U.S. states have pushed ahead with it, few would have imagined Australia to follow suite in banning “Ladies Nights” — a type of bar promotion that provides free or discounted drinks for female bar patrons — because it represents gender discrimination.

After the ban on Ladies Nights, what’s next? Will there be lawsuits against laundries just because they charge more for dry-cleaning a blouse than for a man’s shirt as they have the buttons on the wrong side?

Seriously, in the state of South Australia, “Ladies Nights” will be outlawed from 18 January 2013 under a new Code of Practice for pubs and clubs, professedly also aiming at curbing binge drinking.

Now venues must ensure that free cool drinking water is available at all times and must have at least one non-alcoholic beverage for purchase at a price lower than that of the least expensive alcoholic drink offered.

I am not sure who was being discriminated against by the “Ladies’ Nights” – the women themselves or the full-paying male punters. One thing is sure: the ban only serves to trivialise the need to combat real instances of invidious discrimination.

Moreover, if the purpose of the ban was to stop binge drinking, why did the South Australian legislators not barge ahead and ban every form of price promotion in the on- and the off-trade?

Bars that are putting on “Ladies Nights” or “Happy Hours” are engaging in what economists call price discrimination, the practice of charging different people different prices for the same good or service. To some, this might seem scandalous, but it happens all the time and it is perfectly legal. Shops will sell the same product at two different prices – a regular price and a discount price for someone who has registered with the store or clipped a coupon.

In my opinion, a ban on “Ladies’ nights” is neither a great victory for equality nor will it stop binge drinking. So why bother at all?

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