Chinese company faces criticism for requesting women to wear makeup to 'motivate' team

In a recent incident reported by the South China Morning Post, a Chinese company has come under fire for allegedly requesting female staff members to wear light makeup in order to "motivate" their male colleagues within the organization.

The controversy unfolded when Luo, an executive officer at the company, initiated a group conversation on WeChat with his team of five women on November 30. In the course of the conversation, Luo made a request for female staff to wear makeup, citing that it would "motivate our team."

In a message to the women, Luo wrote, "Ladies, please wear light makeup to work from December to motivate our team. Our gentlemen will crowdfund to treat ladies to afternoon tea."

However, the message received no positive response from the recipients. In a follow-up message, Luo went on to state, "Please do reply when you receive the message, otherwise your performance bonuses will be slashed."

The incident came to light when an influencer, who happened to be a friend of a staff member at the company, shared the message on the internet. The story gained traction and was subsequently covered by local media platforms in China.

In response to the public backlash, Luo defended his actions, claiming that his request was intended as a joke and that the message had been removed. "It’s just a joke, and we’ve removed it. Everyone knows there’s no such thing," the officer stated.

However, social media users in the country were quick to express their disapproval of Luo's behavior. One user questioned the double standard, asking, "Why does he not ask the male staff to do workouts to motivate the team?" Another user commented skeptically, "Is it really a joke? He is the only one laughing."