Burger King sparks public outrage over its tweet for the ‘International Women’s Day’

Burger King earned the ire of the public, especially the women when it posted a tweet on International Women’s Day saying that “Women belong to the kitchen.” The post was intended to promote the company’s scholarship program for female employees, but it was taken differently by the people.

The BK promotion for women gone wrong

March 8 is International Women’s Day, and to mark the occasion, various companies posted empowering messages and inspiring quotes for female workers. Burger King is one of those who would like to greet the women by announcing its initiative for them.

However, it appears the company did not do it right, and instead of being thanked for it, its statements led to a backlash, and the fast-food chain received bitter words on social media. As per USA Today, Burger King's attempt to accentuate gender inequality in the restaurant industry in a seemingly joking manner has backfired.

Its tweet that reads, "Women belong in the kitchen," was not taken well. There was a follow-up to the message saying that women only belong in the kitchen "if they want to, or course."

Burger King then posted a series of tweets explaining that it was referring to the lack of female chefs in the restaurant industry.

The company said that only 20% of chefs are women, and Burger King wants to change this gender ratio by empowering the women who work in the business with the “opportunity to pursue a culinary career." BK then unveiled its plan to set up a scholarship program for female employees who would like to become chefs.

The intention was good, the reactions to the campaign were negative. Many people were disappointed by Burger King’s choice of words. It tried to be playful with its marketing, but it only resulted in misunderstandings after the meaning was flipped over.

"There’s a fine line between edgy and inappropriate or dangerous to your own reputation today,” Chicago Business quoted Erik Bernstein, head at Bernstein Crisis Management. "In this case, I believe Burger King is going to see a negative ROI."

BK deleted and explained its true intention for the post

As mentioned earlier, Burger King only wants to promote its culinary scholarship program for women called the Burger King H.E.R. (Helping Equalize Restaurants), and this was unveiled at the appropriate time, during Women's Day.

But the company missed the mark after its tweets were widely misinterpreted due to the “Women belong to the kitchen” statement. BK deleted the post that angered many and explained its side.

"We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry," Burger King tweeted. “Our aim was to draw attention to the fact that only 20% of professional chefs in UK kitchens are women and to help change that by awarding culinary scholarships. We are committed to helping women break through a male-dominated culinary culture in the world’s fine dining restaurants.”