Are women victims of a sexist surcharge? Yes, according to California Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who introduced a bill to Congress on Monday calling for an end to gender-based pricing schemes that lead women to pay more than men for similar products. Speaking in San Francisco, Speier said women routinely have to pay higher prices for consumer goods such as beauty products, clothes and toys — amounting to what feminists coin a “pink” tax. “Whether the gender tax is caused by an unconscious bias or by nefarious scheming, it makes no difference. Its unfair and it’s unethical,” she said.
Indeed, when looking at the data, there are non-negligible disparities in prices for men and women. A study on gender pricing released last year by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) found that, on average, “women’s products cost 7 percent more than similar products for men.” And across the sample of 794 individual items analyzed in 35 different product categories, women’s products were more expensive 42% of the time.
Is it enough to conclude that these differences are proof of a plot to discriminate against women on the spending side? Not if you look at how prices are determined.
While the New York City DCA acknowledges in the report that “there may be legitimate drivers behind some portion of the price discrepancies,” it still sees it as a gross injustice because these higher prices are “mostly unavoidable” for women.
However, it’s not always that simple.
One crucial question is whether the products being compared (say, men’s and women’s razors) are, in fact, the same. And more often than not, they aren’t.
Women’s razors, for example, are generally built with a larger and more flexible head to help women shave larger and less accessible areas. Similarly, dry cleaning women’s blouses and shirts — which are often comprised of more elaborate fabrics and come in more intricate cuts than men’s — tends to be more labor intensive, hence it is more expensive.
Female consumers might not have control over the cut, fabric, or ingredients used in the products that are marketed to them — that is true. That does not mean, however, that women do not have control over what products they decide to buy and how much they’re willing to pay.
There’s nothing stopping us from buying the male version of a product, especially if the two versions show no difference in construction. No one’s forcing you to pick up that Bic “for Her” ballpoint pen — unless you’re REALLY into pastel colors and a sleek design for “better handling” (because we wouldn’t want to see unladylike callouses on these fragile little hands, would we?).
At the end of the day, we buy things because we believe, for a variety of reasons, that they will effectively satisfy our needs du jour. And women overwhelmingly continue to buy products “designed” for them. Call it good marketing; call it societal pressure for women to invest more in personal care
That, or women do find a genuine appeal in certain products that justifies paying a higher price.
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Prices are ultimately determined by consumer behavior. Women are willing to pay more for variations in products — even superficial ones — that justify higher prices. Marketers know this and exploit that niche to entice women to spend more.
So if you want to avoid price premiums, choose wisely. The consumer is queen, after all.