A lesbian couple from New Zealand say they’re the victims of discrimination after they were turned down for a job because of their sexuality.
The couple,Emily Carter and Danika Te Moananui, say their skills and experience counted for nothing when they applied to manage Whitianga’s Mercury Bay Holiday Park, and were told they weren’t a traditional male/female couple so their application to manage a holiday park was rejected.
The holiday park owner told them:
“A man is required to attend to male aspects of our clientele, and similarly a female for feminine issues. If you better read and understood the position you were applying for then you could have saved yourself whatever embarrassment may have occurred, none on my part.”
The ad never specified a man and woman; it simply asked for a “multi-skilled couple”.
“There’s no such thing as a traditional couple anymore. There’s just people who love each other and we’re all people.”
Emily Carter and Danika Te Moananui
New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission wouldn’t talk about this case but said:
“It is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex in New Zealand unless there is a genuine occupational requirement.”