Chinese company criticised for asking women to apply makeup to ‘motivate’ team

A Chinese company faced criticism for urging female staff to wear light makeup, claiming it would “motivate” their male colleagues, according to a South China Morning Post report.

In a group conversation on WeChat on November 30, Luo, an executive officer in the company, asked five women on his team to wear makeup, believing it would boost team motivation.

“Ladies, please wear light makeup to work from December to motivate our team. Our gentlemen will crowdfund to treat ladies to afternoon tea,” the officer wrote.

Receiving no immediate response, Luo later prompted them to reply if they wanted their performance bonuses.

“Please do reply when you receive the message, otherwise your performance bonuses will be slashed,” Luo wrote.

The incident gained attention when an influencer, connected to a company staff member, shared the message online. The story circulated on local media platforms in China, prompting Luo to clarify that he didn’t intend for women to wear makeup at work.

“It’s just a joke, and we’ve removed it. Everyone knows there’s no such thing,” the officer said.

The behavior, however, did not go down well with social media users in the country.

“Why does he not ask the male staff to do workouts to motivate the team?” one user wrote.