Herspectives

The systemic nature of gender discrimination is apparent in the economic policies that render personal care products inaccessible for women across the world. The pink tax is a phenomenon in which commodities such as pads, tampons, razors, soaps, etc. are sold at disproportionately higher costs than male equivalents simply because of features that make them female-targeted. It is a blatant attack on women’s right to affordable hygiene, as it is motivated solely by sexist market stereotyping.

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that women were paying on average 13% more for personal care products, and a Parsehub study in Canada revealed that deodorant was costing 50% more for women. A female will pay $2,381 more for similar goods each year than a man.

It is also essential for one to examine the pink tax theory through the lense of the gender pay gap. As it is, women are paid less than their male counterparts in most areas of employment. This disadvantage is exacerbated by the financial burden of essential care products, reinforcing females’ lowered economic status. Marginalized communities (people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, disabled individuals) are even more vulnerable to the detriments of pink tax, being already subject to systemic financial obstacles.

But this issue is more than an economic liability for women. It exemplifies how deeply entrenched gender bias is in our society, and perpetuates oversimplified generalizations. By charging more for products that are “girly” and “feminine”, companies are encouraging harmful stereotyping and playing right into the hands of discriminatory gender norms. This encourages prejudice against people who do not conform to the assigned “norms” of their gender and hinders progress away from narrow minded ideals. We are in an era of female empowerment where individuality and financial equality for women should be celebrated, and this discriminatory economic policy is yet another attempt to silence our herspectives.

But a futile one at that. Here is what Plan International says can be done to take action against pink tax:

• Enforce anti-discrimination laws.  
• Promote gender-neutral pricing.  
• Raise public awareness about unfair costs.  
• Encourage consumer advocacy.  
• Pressure companies to set fair prices for similar products. 

_{Information from https://plan-uk.org/our-work/girls-rights/pink-tax-explained and https://www.unbiased.com/discover/taxes/pink-tax-statistics#Highlights}