Burger King UK apologises after its Women’s Day tweet is dubbed sexist and tone-deaf

The tweet about lack of female chefs in restaurant kitchens and a new scholarship program didn’t sit well with people.

Burger King UK has issued an apology after social media users called out its Women’s Day tweet for being sexist and misogynistic.

We hear you. We got our initial tweet wrong and we’re sorry. 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 will do better next time.

— Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) March 8, 2021

The leading American QSR accepted it got it wrong. It said its “aim was to draw attention to the fact that only 20 per cent of professional chefs in UK kitchens are women and to help change that by awarding culinary scholarships.”

The now-deleted tweet read: “Women belong in the kitchen.” The follow-up tweet read: “We’re on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry by empowering female employees with the opportunity to pursue a culinary career.” A third tweet said that the QSR giant was launching a scholarship program to help female Burger King employees pursue their culinary dreams.

Only 24% of chef positions in US are occupied by women.

That’s why the BK Foundation launched a culinary scholarship program to bring more women to leadership positions in the industry.

Women belong in the kitchen if they want to work there. And hopefully in leadership roles. pic.twitter.com/ITwnTJQpDp

— Fer Machado (@fer_machado123) March 8, 2021

Burger King also rolled out a newspaper ad (developed by its creative agency Miami David), where the controversial tweet’s copy was displayed in big bold letters. Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer at Restaurant Brands International (BK’s parent company), tweeted, “Only 24 per cent of chef positions in the US are occupied by women. That’s why the BK Foundation launched a culinary scholarship program to bring more women to leadership positions in the industry. Women belong in the kitchen if they want to work there. And hopefully in leadership roles.”

While the brand intended to highlight the lack of female chefs in the restaurant kitchens and promote its scholarship program, people did not like the fact that BK had used sexist and tone-deaf clickbait in the first place.

pic.twitter.com/QmJiwOGgZZ

— KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) March 8, 2021

KFC’s gaming division tweeted an image with the text that said Burger King should have deleted the tweet right after it posted it. “Why would we delete a tweet that’s drawing attention to a huge lack of female representation in our industry, we thought you’d be on board with this as well?” retorted Burger King.