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The AA says it won’t prioritise women over men because ‘that’s equality’
A lone woman was told by a call handler that she wouldn’t be prioritised based on her gender
A woman who was left stranded after her car broke down was told by the AA that she wouldn’t be prioritised because ‘that’s equality’.
Dr. Helen Mott took to Twitter on January 19th after an AA call handler had allegedly told her she wouldn’t be prioritised because they treat lone men and women ‘exactly the same’ in these circumstances as ‘that’s equality’.
Dr. Mott, whose Twitter bio states she specialises in preventing violence against women, pointed out that ‘this is not equality’, writing: “I will now wait alone in the dark for 90 minutes or more, something which as a lone woman nowhere near home is far more anxiety-provoking than it would be for a man, if you follow the news.
“I think your policies need a revamp.”
And just to add smoke to the fire, the AA Twitter account replied to Dr. Mott’s tweet, saying that she had indeed heard the call handler correctly and confirming that they do not prioritise their call outs based on gender.
Their reply read: “Hi Helen, you’ve been advised correctly. We don’t prioritise based on gender, we do consider the location so as an example we would prioritise someone on a motorway over someone in a supermarket carpark.”
The AA’s president Edmund King also waded into the equation, pointing out that it is against the law for anyone providing goods, facilities or services in the UK to discriminate based on gender.
King added, however, that the AA uses ‘common sense’ to provide priority to those at risk and that ‘we are here to help you’.
However, a spokesperson for the company has since addressed the incident, saying the wording of their initial response ‘wasn’t great’.
They apologised and said: “We prioritise anyone at risk but more often than not it will be lone women. In breakdowns involving lone women where there is any concern raised by the customer they receive the highest level of care and priority.”
Dr. Mott later confirmed that she had made it home safely thanks to Chris from the AA.
This comes just months after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged men to ‘change their behaviour’ and ‘call out mates’ following a spate of violence against women across the city.
Burnham was attending a protest against drinking spiking when he stressed that the issue is on ‘men, lads and boys’, saying: “This one is on us: men, lads, boys. That might mean calling out mates for their behaviour or it might mean changing our own behaviour.”