It`s tough being a woman. No matter how men may rail against what they choose to call ‘feminazis’ and how their paranoia may give rise to some bizarre new concepts such as meninism, we are still the gender that has to actively struggle to enjoy the same rights and freedoms that men take for granted. The sociological and philosophical aspects of gender discrimination aside, did you know there is an economic aspect to gender inequality? Did you know we women pay more for several products we use? Apparently it is also more expensive to be a woman!
In India, a disposable men’s razor comes in a no-nonsense blister multipack whereas a ‘woman’s’ razor comes individually packed at about double that price. To justify the extra amount, the colour is nicer, there is a difference in the shape of the handle and there is some ineffectual moisture strip or similar addition. And this is the justifiable price difference caused by a needless and patronizing prettification (most women don’t want to pay extra for a pretty razor) of a product aimed at women
It’s something that people are calling the pink tax – the price of hundreds of products and services aimed at women is higher than identical items made for men. A New York based study examined about 800 products and found that in 42% cases, women paid more for the same thing. A similar study in California found that gender based pricing resulted in women spending $1,300 more a year than they would otherwise.
You could well argue that women use many more services at a salon and more elaborate ones; hence salons charging more, is understandable. Women pay more for shirts and jeans than men. You may say there are more embellishments, but even without those women pay more! And here is something else: medications such as this stool softerner cost more when targeted at women!
Take personal hygiene products that men don’t need: sanitary pads, tampons and so on. Now these are necessities that 50% of the population will need for about 35 years of their lives. Bizarrely however, these are taxed as luxury items! Campaigns are ongoing to remove cess from these products but governments in India and elsewhere continue to tax these products.
Those are two identical shirts – but the one the woman is wearing costs about 10 dollars more! Even girls toys cost more than boy’s toys! And then there is dry cleaning – here as well women pay more than men.
The pink tax is a global phenomenon and in Korea, women are protesting against it via a Facebook group called Female Expenditure Strike. They decided to voice their protest via a boycott – no expenditures on the first Sunday of the month. This is an idea that dates back to 1975, to Iceland, when 90 percent of women there stopped working for a day, including cooking and looking after children, under the slogan “When women stop, the world stops.”
Remember the gender pay gap is a real thing (no matter what all the angry men say). This is exacerbated by the amount of unpaid ‘invisible’ labour women engage in (cooking, cleaning, child rearing, all ‘women’s work’ that women are never paid for). We can’t be paid less and then expect to shell out more! That would be unreasonable. Oh wait…
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