McDonald’s flipped its logo to ‘celebrate’ women. Would you like a backlash with that?

Fast-food behemoth McDonald’s is temporarily flipping its iconic logo and switching its packaging in some US locations – a move meant to celebrate International Women’s Day, the company says.

But the stunt has rung hollow to many of the company’s critics, who say McDonald’s has systematically advanced policies that disadvantage its female employees. In particular, the company has fought a sustained battle against increases to the minimum wage, an issue that affects women disproportionately.

According to the US Labour Department, women make up nearly two-thirds of all hourly minimum-wage earners. Recent research suggests that they benefit most from increases in that minimum.

“Hey McDonalds,” tweeted Nathan Lerner, a progressive activist. “Maybe instead of a cheap PR stunt where you make the M a W to ‘support’ women, you do something real – like paying your workers a living wage.”

This is far from the first time that activists and critics have called on McDonald’s to pay its employees more. The chain, which employs 375,000 people in the United States, is a regular target of the “Fight for $15” campaign, which advocates for higher wages, and has found its shareholder meetings disrupted by minimum-wage activists.

It is also not the first time that women’s groups have identified the minimum wage as a feminist issue. The National Women’s Law Centre, a non-profit advocacy group, has argued that raising that minimum wage is key to closing the gender pay gap and advancing the economic interests of women.