The pink tax is a phenomenon often attributed as a form of gender-based price discrimination, with the name stemming from the observation that many of the affected products are pink. This is not a literal tax, but a broad tendency for products marketed specifically toward women to be more expensive than those marketed for men, despite either gender’s choice to purchase either product. The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs conducted a study that concludes that women’s products are typically more expensive than men’s (in New York city) without reasonable cause. There are many causes of this discrepancy, including the tampon tax, product differentiation, and the belief that women are less price elastic than men.
Products marketed specifically toward women cost on average 7% more than products marketed toward men, according to a New York City Department of Consumer Affairs study. This discrepancy applies to apparel, toys, and healthcare products, among other things. In the toy sector, girls’ toys cost on average 7% more than boys’ toys.The study talked about a side-by-side comparison of a Radio Flyer scooter where the red scooter costs $24.99 and a pink scooter, identical in all ways but color, costs $49. In children’s apparel, girls’ clothes were 4% more expensive than boys’. Men’s clothing was 8% less expensive than women’s clothes. The largest discrepancy came to personal care/hygiene products, where women’s products cost 13% more than men’s.
Economic impact
The economic impact of the pink tax is that women have less purchasing power, especially paired with the gender-based pay gap. The wage gap already puts women at a disadvantage when it comes to purchasing power. Women currently make a statistical average 89 cents for every $1 a man earns in the United States, meaning women statistically, on average, have less income to spend on goods and services. This alone gives men more money and, ultimately, more buying power. The pink tax further contributes to the economic inequality between men and women. Paying more for goods and services marketed to women while women earn less than men means men hold the majority of the purchasing power in the economy. Taxes on feminine hygiene products that men don’t need further contributes to this discrepancy.
Alina Mija 