The Pink Tax, A Challenge for Women

The pink tax is a term used to describe gender-based price differences where women pay more for products and services which are directly marketed to them compared to similar products and services for men.  It is not a government tax.

“The pink tax is not a one-time injustice. It’s an insidious form of institutionalized discrimination that affects women across the country from the cradle to the grave.”

Rep. Jackie Speier, Former Representative for California’s 14^th District

How Does The Pink Tax Work?

The Pink Tax can be seen in various industries, including personal care products, clothing, and healthcare. 

A study, From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer, was conducted by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, to estimate the price differences between similar types of products that men and women buy.

They analysed:

• Industries: 5 
• Stores: 24 
• Brands: 91 
• Product Categories: 35 
• Products: 794 

They found that on average, women’s products cost:

• 7% more than similar products for men. 
• higher in 30 out of the 35 product categories analysed
• more, 42% of the time compared to men’s which cost more only 18% of the time.

Personal Care

The greatest discrepancy in pricing was found in personal care where women’s products cost 13% more than men’s.

The greatest price discrepancy in this category was for hair care where the researchers found that women pay a whopping 48% more for hair care than men. Razors for women were priced 11% higher than for men’s.

Adult Clothing

Women’s adult clothing was found to be 8% more expensive than men’s.

Women’s shirts were found to be 15% more expensive than men’s and women’s jeans were 10% more expensive.

Children’s Products

The study found that even children’s products showed a gender-based price discrepancy.

The overall price discrepancy for:

• clothing was lower, at 4% than for adults. For example, girls’ shirts were 13% more expensive. However, girls’ baby shirts were only 2% more expensive than boys.
• toys and accessories were 7%, with girls’ helmets and pads proving 13% more expensive. However, backpacks only showed a 0.8% discrepancy.

Services

The pink tax also affects services such as those provided by hairdressers and dry cleaners.

For example, the US Senate’s Joint Economic Committee, in their report, ‘The Pink Tax, How Gender-Based Pricing Hurts Women’s Buying Power’ reported on a 2011 study conducted by researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF).

This study found that:

• 85% (of the 100 hairdressers who took part in the study) charged more for women’s haircuts than for men’s.
• Women paid 54% more than the average price paid by men.
• Women paid an enormous 92% more to get a dress shirt dry cleaned than men did.

How Does The Pink Tax Impact Women?

The Financial Cost of the Pink Tax

In 2020, The Senate Committee on Judiciary and The Senate Select Committee on Women Work and Families found that women in California pay $2,381 more than men for the same goods and services.

It also reported that;

• the average California woman pays a pink tax of $188,000 over the course of her lifetime.
• the pink tax “penalizes women across California to the tune of roughly $47 billion each year.”

The Impact on Women

The pink tax impacts women in multiple ways.

• It affects them economically. They pay more for products and services which leaves them with less disposable income.
• It particularly affects women on lower incomes and carers leaving them more financially vulnerable.
• Less money means a lower standard of living.
• It leaves less money to invest and secure their financial future, for example, investing in a pension or an ISA.
• Women pay more for clothes, hair care (shampoos, conditioners and haircuts) and general grooming required for their jobs. Such costs could reduce women’s chances of getting hired or promoted, limiting their job prospects.
• According to the UK Office for National Statistics, median pay was 14.3% less for women than for men. The pink tax widens this gender pay gap as women have to pay more for products and services than men, meaning men can potentially invest or save more of their income.

How Can We Address the Pink Tax?

• Women can campaign for changes in legislation to stop this discriminatory pricing from being legal.
• Governments can implement legislation banning the Pink Tax.
  • California implemented the Gender Tax Repeal Act of 1995. This law prohibits gender-based discrimination in pricing for services.
  • New York City passed a similar law in 1998 which was aimed at retail companies e.g., hairdressers and dry cleaners, prohibiting the display of discriminatory pricing.
  • The Pink Tax Repeal Act was proposed in the US Congress in 2019 to address the pink tax. It is still pending.
  • The UK government abolished value-added tax (VAT) (a.k.a. the ‘tampon tax’) on sanitary products in January 2021.
  • In Australia in 2019, the government abolished the 10% goods and services tax (GST) on feminine hygiene products.
• Raise awareness of the pink tax amongst consumers. They can take action such as:
  • boycotting particular products or service providers or
  • buying products or services which offer the best quality and value for money regardless of who the company markets the product or service to.
• Complain directly to the companies that charge more for products marketed to women.
• Women can join campaigns that seek to eliminate the Pink Tax.

The Pink Tax, A Global Issue

The United Nations has requested that countries across the world eliminate the pink tax.

The pink tax is inherently an unfair tax as it unjustly penalises women when buying goods and services based on their gender. It reduces women’s disposable income and purchasing power. It increases financial insecurity and potentially limits economic opportunities.

Eliminating the pink tax will help women achieve greater financial security and equality.

If you have any comments to make or questions to ask about the pink tax please do so in the Comments section below.

Thanks for reading!

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