Since her teens, Muriel Vega, now 29, of Atlanta, has bought men’s razors and shaving cream. It’s partly a cost-saving strategy passed down from her mother, but she’s also found that men’s razors work better for her. “Over time, I started seeing more lady-focused razors, but I started trying them and they’ll dull out halfway through one leg,” she says. “I started going back to the male razors.”
Razors and shaving cream aren’t the only products subject to a gender price gap. According to a study of gendered pricing released by New York City Department of Consumer Affairs last year, shampoo and conditioner marketed to women cost an average of 48 percent more than those marketed to men, while women’s jeans cost 10 percent more than men’s, and girls’ bikes and scooters cost 6 percent more than boys’. Overall, the study found that products marketed to women cost more 42 percent of the time.
Women, who statistically already make less money than men on average, may pay a premium for items marketed to them simply because they aren’t aware of this so-called “pink” tax. “Manufacturers can find some consumers who are not aware of price differences or are willing to pay for something that’s really the same as the male version,” says Ian Parkman, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Portland. “[With razors], the blue version [might be] $1.99, and the pink razor [might be] $2.50, but pink plastic versus blue plastic can’t explain the price difference.”
| Total | Number of Times | Incidence |
|---|---|---|
| Women pay more | 168 | 42% |
| Equal | 157 | 40% |
| Men pay more | 72 | 18% |
| Total | 397 | 100% |
| Source: New York City Department of Consumer Affairs |
Some items marketed to women not only cost more but actually contain less of the product because manufacturers make the product smaller and more feminine-looking, an approach called “shrink it and pink it.” “Yes, sometimes women do need smaller versions of things, and for jeans and other clothing, we want different cuts and different fashions,” says Christine Whelan, director of MORE: Money, Relationships and Equality at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “But the idea that that equates to somewhere between a 30 to 50 percent price hike is simply playing on the socialized culture that says women need to look a certain way.”
For gendered toys, the blue version is often sturdier and more intellectually stimulating than the pink one (although companies like GoldieBlox are working to change this). “If you look at the pink Duplos [which are like Legos for younger kids], you can do only a fraction of what you can do with the regular Duplos,” Whelan says.
So what are cost-conscious women to do?
Buying the men’s version of an item is one option that could both save you money and send the message to stores and brands that you’re not supporting higher prices on items marketed to women. If you’d rather not use a shower gel or deodorant with a musky, masculine fragrance, choose the unscented version, suggests Jenn Steele, director of product marketing at Indix, a firm that gathers data on consumer products.
For kids who want the pink bicycle or other item, Whelan suggests framing it as a values decision, not a purely financial one. “Do you really want to support the idea that girls are getting charged more just because they’re girls?” she asks.
However, don’t assume that the male version is always cheaper. Bring a calculator or use one on your phone to compare unit costs. “If we don’t shop on a per-ounce basis because of the different sizes and shapes, it’s easy to hide the pink tax,” Steele says. “Without the math, it’s really hard to know.” Gendered products are sometimes shelved separately to further obscure the price difference.
For gender-specific over-the-counter medication, also look at the dosage. “With the pink laxative versus the blue laxative, I would caution women to make sure that the dosing is the same in both,” Whelan says. “Men’s products may have extra ingredients or a higher dose, so look at the ingredient list.”
Of course, some items — like tampons and other feminine hygiene products — don’t have a male version. Not only do those who menstruate need to buy these items, but in the vast of majority of states, they also pay sales tax on those items as if they were luxuries and not necessities. Outrage over the so-called “tampon tax” has spread in part due to a recent YouTube interview in which President Obama first learned about the tax.
Women around the world are posting on social media under hashtags like #genderpricing, #pinktax and #gendertax, calling for an end to luxury taxes on these products and gendered pricing in general. That step is needed, according to Steele. “Women need to call out companies and put the pressure on brands and retailers to fix the pricing,” she says.
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The Pink Tax: Why Women’s Products Often Cost More originally appeared on usnews.com
