Airport’s “Sexist” Parking Spaces Spark Female Furor in Frankfurt
Jesse Tabit August 03, 2015
Of the 14,000 parking spots available at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), a few hundred are reserved specifically for women – an old move some are now criticizing as sexist. The 250 female-only parking spaces, first introduced in 2013, are slightly wider than average and scattered throughout FRA’s parking garages. Each of these spots is brightly marked with a pink ribbon on the floor and pink signs on garage walls that read: “Ladies Parking.”
FRA spokesman, Robert Payne, told USA Today the spots stem from a law in Germany that requires the airport to provide women designated spaces “with proximity to the terminal entrances.”
Geraldine Herbert, editor of Wheels for Women magazine, is speaking out about the parking spaces many women have called sexist. “It’s very patronizing for women to be singled out this way,” Herbert told The Local, arguing that making the women’s spots wider reinforces the stereotype that women are bad at parking and suggesting that FRA make all spots wider to accommodate larger, modern cars.
On its website, FRA describes “Ladies Parking” as:
Quick, safe and convenient from your parking to the terminal
Bigger, nicer and close to the terminals. This is our exclusive parking offer at Frankfurt Airport for women only. With new and special designed parking areas, which are colour-coded and easy to find.
[Photo: YouTube via USA Today]
You’re Reading
Thanks Weero. The only disappointment for me is having to read the Google translation.
BJM I might have to disappoint you: the German Wiki page ( https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frauenparkplatz ) that followed the very the insane debate when Germany implemented the European directive on equal treatment, had a link (reference #8) which showed that parking garage crimes are aplenty but body injury was inflicted more commonly on men (as it is everywhere else). German federal justice minister Brigitte Zypries then reduced the criterion to "crimes against sexual self determination". Due to the CCTV density in these places, no meaningful statistics could be established and in the end the federal government settled for the criterion of "perceived threats" which "limit mobility" (these links are all intact). These spots are basically the German nationwide equivalent to the "safe spaces" on US colleges. As for the law - the federal AGG does not (unlike ADA) force operators to provide these women parking spots but most state laws provide steep quotas.via the "Garagenverordnung". Brandenburg purportedly demands 30% of the space being allocated for women.
I think it's sexist because who decided that men wouldn't like closer and wider parking spots. Men do tend to be larger than women and that would make more sense (wider, not necessarily closer).
Weero, I am interested in the assault statistic you provided. Do you have a link where I can read more? daninstl. . . WOW!
What about transgender parking or parking for other classes of people. Silly.