If someone said to you that one gender will have to pay more for the same product just simply because they’re of that gender, you’re likely to boycott that brand and label it as discriminatory, yet, somehow our capitalists economy has escaped all consequences while doing exactly that. This is called the pink tax.
Gender-based price discrimination or more commonly known as the pink tax is the invisible cost that women have to pay for the same product as compared to men, simply because of its branding. What’s worse is that women often don’t know they’re being subjected to this and continue to pay it unknowingly. So while we do talk about reducing the gender wage gap, and look at controlled factors for it, marketers still run free carrying out their discriminatory price policies.
This price differentiation is way more common than one would imagine, just have a look at any personal care product - shampoo, body wash or even a razor and it’ll have pink tax levied on it. The product’s ingredients and purpose will be the same and in most cases, the difference is quite literally the colour pink and yet the price difference will be almost 50%. In fact, a study done in New York over 800 plus products found out that around 40% of the time women had to pay more for the same product.
From clothing to personal care, price discrimination is everywhere and it doesn’t stop there. Even toy manufacturers make a pink version of the same product and sell it for almost 20% more.
So how and why exactly does an entire gender pay more without anyone noticing? The answer to this goes back in history. Early marketers found out that women were likely to spend more since they were socially subjected to a higher standard of appearance which caused them to spend higher to achieve the societal standards. This finding served as a lottery ticket for marketers who could exploit this to their benefit. Brands often re-position the same product in order to capture the target market and they did exactly that except this time they got a bigger payout. While it seems unethical, marketers have justified it the same way they justify pricing airline tickets higher close to the date of departure.
While the justification seems bleak, the discrimination continues. However, change isn’t out of question. A few years ago this pink tax was levied upon feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins in India. The product that was essential to female reproductive health was sold as a luxury item and hence was subject to sales tax. With such a commodity out of reach of millions of girls, activists argued its impacts on their education and job opportunities. Online petitions were filed and court cases fought, which finally led to scrapping off the 12% tax levied on them in 2018. This case teaches us the importance of the role we play as customers. Brands can only continue with their discriminatory pricing only if we consume them without questioning. As a smart consumer, we have the ability to ask why we are paying more to a certain product and compare it with others. Years ago, fairness and lightening creams were being rampantly sold and yet today this power of questioning has led major players in the cosmetic industry to remove their product lines and rebrand themselves. If we can make that change happen, we surely can step up against this discriminatory pricing and demand companies to justify their stand on public platforms. While it may be unfair, it certainly is not unavoidable and this is exactly where our power lies as an informed modern consumer.
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