Pinker will not accept “impositions” on its business model
Pinker, a ride-hailing platform exclusively for women, is no longer expected to start operating in Portugal as the founder refuses “impositions” on the business model.
The main difference between Pinker and its competitors operating in Portugal, Uber and Bolt, is that it is only accepts female drivers and is for the exclusive use of women.
But this very exclusivity is what led the Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT) to suspend the operator’s licence, giving it until Friday to provide clarification because it was contravening “article 7 of Law 45/2018, which states that there can be no discrimination in access to ride-hailing services’.
“Users, actual and potential, have equal access to ride-hailing services, and may not be refused by the provider on the grounds of ancestry, age or gender,” states the article.
After meeting with IMT president João Jesus Caetano on December 6, Pinker founder Mónica Faneco said she was left with the impression he “did not know how things work at all”.
“You must know the difference between a ride-hailing platform and an operator. It shows your lack of knowledge when you ask how many people or drivers I’m going to recruit. I can’t recruit anyone on my platform. It’s the operators who do that,” she said, referring to the companies that are partners of the platforms and operationalise the service by hiring drivers.
Mónica Faneco was blunt in her rejection of “impositions on her business model” and emphasised that it is based on “protecting women through safety”, which is why she won’t have men as drivers.
“I currently feel unprotected. If the IMT doesn’t give the go-ahead (for Pinker to operate), we’ll leave. But I will continue to fight for women’s rights in Portugal,” she said.
Mónica Faneco said she had submitted two challenges to the IMT’s decision and was waiting to see what the outcome would be. Faneco maintains that the platform “doesn’t discriminate, only if it’s positive discrimination”, and emphasises that she is “defending women’s rights”.
The founder will now move on to other European markets, namely Spain, and is also in talks to start operating in Italy.
In the meantime, on Tuesday, she launched the petition “Promoting the Creation of Exclusive Companies for Women”, on the understanding that setting up these companies – both as entrepreneurs, employers and collaborators – “is a concrete response to promoting gender equality, ensuring that workspaces are inclusive, safe and adapted to their specific needs”.
“Similar initiatives implemented in other countries have generated positive impacts, including increased female participation in the labour market, economic empowerment and improved working conditions,” says the online petition, which at the time of writing this article had been signed by over 660 people.
For Mónica Faneco, promoting the creation of this segment of companies “would not only boost female entrepreneurship but also create an alternative model of economic participation, with positive effects on equal opportunities and the fight against discrimination”.
The petitioners are calling for parliament to promote debates and study the legal, technical and economic feasibility of encouraging the creation of companies exclusively for women in Portugal, as well as tax, financial and training incentives to encourage female entrepreneurship, with special attention to women in situations of economic or social vulnerability.
“We emphasise the importance of eliminating financial barriers to access to justice, an essential step in combating violence and discrimination. These measures represent a significant step forward in building a fairer and more equitable society, under the fundamental values enshrined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic,” the petition adds.
Source: LUSA
