THE DAYS of a helpless dame needing a burly bloke to talk tough at the auto-shop to avoid rip-offs may be over. But for some women it is still a man’s world. The Chamber of Women in Business recently put their minds to solving the question they were most asked by their members: where can women go to find the kind of service they deserve?
And so the ‘‘Purple Tick Program’’ and website www.purpletick.org.au were born. Similar to the Heart Foundation’s tick of approval for those seeking healthy food options, the Purple Tick Program seeks to highlight local and national businesses that place a focus on services designed for women – often in clean, comfortable and child-friendly locations.
The website allows the user to search for businesses in specific categories and has capabilities for user comments and recommendations. Purple Tick has a simple mission statement in ‘‘guiding women to good service’’, according to committee chair and Canberra businesswoman Barbara Baikie. ‘‘The chamber recently commissioned a survey to canvass women’s shopping habits and experiences,’’ she said. ‘‘More than 64 per cent of women can recall having had a bad shopping experience because they were a woman. Things such as being patronised, called ‘love’ or ‘sweetie’, being made to feel stupid . . . being ignored and talked down to.’’
For more, pick up a copy of Today's Canberra Times.
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