Shanghai Shopping Mall Creates Extra-Large Parking Spaces for Women

Well there you are. I was beginning to wonder. I thought I'd be sitting having coffee alone but suddenly there you were. I am delighted. Park yourself at the VIP table here. Can I pour you a mug of choice arabica? Virtual pastry? Muffin? Doughnut? One of each? Speaking of parking...

A shopping mall in Shanghai recently sparked controversy with its special, super-sized parking spaces for female drivers. The pink-colored spots are six meters long by three meters wide, making them half a meter larger than normal parking spaces. 

Although mall staff insist that they are intended to make parking safer and more convenient for women, plenty of netizens have deemed the move sexist.

The four pink-colored spaces on the B1 level of Wandu Center, on Xingyi Road, feature the image of a woman, similar to the ones used to designate restroom doors, on the floor and the walls behind them are to be painted pink for easy identification. Men are obviously not allowed to use these spots, but strict action won’t be taken against those who do, at least not at first. “Whether the ladies-only spaces will be properly used still depends on public awareness,” said mall employee Li Ming.

“Isn’t it a kind of discrimination against female drivers,” a netizen asked on Xinmin.cn. “Some men may be less skilled at parking than women.” Some people have suggested that wider parking spaces should be made available to amateur drivers of both sexes.

“We have noticed these online comments, and we want to emphasize that this is not a kind of discrimination against men or women drivers, but rather a way to show kindness and respect to women,” Li Ming insisted.

Hey, in the Central Festival Shopping Mall on Beach Road in Pattaya, Thailand, an entire parking level is dedicated to 'lady shoppers'. When Nong and I shopped there, we used to have to go one floor higher to park. Should have worn a wig, eh! Hindsight is 20-20. No, when I say hindsight, I'm not talking about watching the parkers getting in or out of their cars!

See ya, eh! 

Bob

Source: http://www.odditycentral.com/news/shanghai-shopping-mall-creates-extra-wide-parking-spaces-for-women.html#more-45719