Have you ever walked into a store and wondered why a women’s perfume is more costly than a men’s perfume? If you have ever compared the prices of men’s and women’s products, you’ll notice how women end up paying more money than men, in the case of some products.
In 2017, when the GST Act came into India, taxes on sanitary products were at a whopping 12%. It was only after several protests, that the government decided to withdraw this tax. Cosmetic beauty products, shoes and accessories specially designed for women, are one of the many products that are charged with this tax.
To most of us, this phenomenon just doesn’t exist. To some, it is just like any other norm, and they choose to turn a blind eye to it. So, let us debunk the realities and myths of this tax and find out whether it actually exists.
What is Pink Tax?
The pink tax is the extra money that women end up paying for everyday items like razors, shampoo, haircuts, clothes, etc. This “tax” applies to items that span a woman’s entire life, from girls’ toys and clothes to shoes and sanitary products.
This phenomenon is not only limited to first-world countries. In India too, women pay more money for a wide variety of products and services marketed specifically to them. The prices on individual products may not seem that different but over time, these little differences add up to become large differences.
Some examples of Pink Tax
Retailers often keep similar products with different prices separated so it's not easy to notice the difference. Some examples to define the phenomenon:
Source- Feminism in India
So, is it Real?
Well, in a way. The pink tax is not exactly the 'tax' that women have to pay. The additional cost included in the MRP of a product has been tagged as the 'pink tax'.
According to a study of gender-based pricing conducted by the New York City of Consumer Affairs, it was found that out of 35 product categories, 30 of these categories charged more from female consumers compared to male consumers. Some other key findings from this study were:
- In the clothing segment, 4% additional cost for girls and 8% for women.
- For the personal care products, a whopping 13% difference
- For the home healthcare products, an additional 8%
- And overall, women’s products were 7% more expensive compared to men’s products.
Even in India, women consumers pay more for most products and services as gender-based pricing discrimination exists in the market. A study was also conducted by some students of IIM, Amritsar, where they compared the prices of 64 products for men and women in different categories and revealed the bleak reality of pink tax in the very markets of India.
When did it start?
This concept of pink tax isn’t new. It was first implemented in the US in the 1920s and has trickled into other economies around the world. While many things have changed within the last few decades, the pink tax has slipped under the covers and stayed hidden in multiple personal care products.
In 2013, Speier was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She introduced several bills to Congress to abolish the pink tax, once in 2016 and the other time in 2019, but the government has taken no serious action to curb this practice yet.
Source- Pink.Tax
Impact on society
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), gender biasness in the workplace still persists, with a large number of women being paid less compared to men, even though both might be involved in the same position or in the same industry. The gender divide is present in workplaces with a limited number of women participating in leadership roles across sectors. The organisation also mentioned that the wage gap exists in all the countries, and globally it has narrowed only by a bit in the past decade.
On one hand, we are not paying women enough for their work, and secondly are charging them more for similar products than men. That is not what gender equality is!
Conclusion
The world is slowly progressing towards a fairer society, but through this process, there will be inconveniences like the pink tax, and, we, women, need to account for, and strategize our savings in order to be future-ready!
Written By- Paridhi Aggarwal
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