This vegan cafe are charging a ‘man tax’ of 18 percent for this reason

The wage gap is not a myth, and this vegan cafe is making sure that everybody knows it.

The Handsome Her vegan cafe in Melbourne, Australia serve everything from brioche to burgers to salad - and they also sell them to women first. As well as ensuring that any man eating in the cafe pays an 18 percent 'man tax' (representing the 18 percent less that Australian women make every year compared to the average man), the guys over at the Handsome Her also seat women first. Recently, a photo of a blackboard with their house-rules was posted on Twitter. It wasn't long before the image went viral. https://twitter.com/paigecardona/status/893045483949535232 The board reads:

"Handsome Her is a space for women, by women. House rules: Rule 1) women have priority seating. Rule 2) men will be charged an 18 percent premium to reflect the gender pay gap (2016) which is donated to a women's service. Rule 3) respect goes both ways."

The tweet has received over 50 retweets and almost 250 replies - not all of which are positive. One user said if they cafe owners wanted to fight for equality, treating everyone equal was the way to go. Another said that if this was "the other way around there would be riots in the streets!!!" But the point of Handsome Her's rules is that this isn't the other way around, and women are still being paid less than men, and given far less opportunities in the workplace. Other users praised the blackboard's rules, saying that the cafe's owners were creating a safe space for women while also highlighting the pay gap issue in a very real way. Handsome Her have since posted on their Facebook page saying that they never expected the board to cause "such a stir." The cafe's owner told some stories of the people who had visited them since.

" ...Yesterday and today we were jam-packed with customers showing their support. I had a woman bring her daughters in today and when she came up to the till and saw our gorgeous vulva stones and our period sticker packs she beamed, thanked us for what we were doing and said: "what a beautiful place to take my daughters"... I swelled with pride."

They also said that a lot of men had showed up to pay the 'man tax', with some of them even giving extra to the donations jar.

"It's not every day that your boss pulls you into her fire-pit of feminism and you have to quickly become warriors and defend where you work and what you do on a level that others never do. You have not only been incredibly strong, proud and supportive, but nurturing and protective as well."

Images via Facebook.