Since the 90s, the concept of “pink tax”, whereby women pay more for goods and services equivalent to men’s, has been continually mentioned. A recent study shows that sex-based price discrimination is rampant across various sectors.
Research on price differentials between men and women dates back to 1994. A California report estimated that women paid an additional $ 1,351 per year for more expensive consumer goods. In 2015, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs reported that women’s products were on average 7% more expensive, and that the numbers do not seem to have changed.
In New Zealand, women are also fighting higher retail prices with products such as disposable razors costing about 7% more than the male equivalent of the same brands.
A recent American study found that five personal care products, such as deodorants and shaving products for men and women, had higher retail prices for the women’s version.
For services such as hairdressing prices, the majority of outlets have a different price list for men and women. When looking at three of Auckland’s top-rated barber shops, the gap is between $ 21 and $ 58 between men’s and women’s cuts. Whilst this may have something to do with longer hair, you can’t deny that there is a trend. We asked one customer of ours who is a hairdresser. This is what they said:
“Some of our clients were fabulous, long-haired men, and some of them were female, just wanting a short back and sides. As a result, the gender-based model was a major disadvantage for the company, ” a Zebra hairdresser customer said.