Pink Tax

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Pink-colored disposable and system razors , as they are marketed for women

The pink tax ( Engl. , "Pink tax") is metaphorically the additional price charged for products and services especially for women compared to similar products for men. It is not a real tax, but a gender-specific price differentiation and affects, for example, personal care products , perfumes or hairdressing services . The term refers to the color pink , in which “women's products” are often offered.

Distinctions

Products and services with similar characteristics can be designed and marketed in various ways in such a way that they appeal more to men or women or boys or girls. This can be achieved through the product name, labeling (“for women”), the choice of color and shape for the product or packaging, image motifs or placement in women's or men's departments. In addition, there may be gender-specific differences that make products or services only similar or very clearly different, for example through different materials or more complex production. It is then no longer possible to speak of gender-specific price differentiation or pink tax .

Examples and studies

A study by the City of New York from 2015 showed the prices of 794 products, which are offered in comparable variants on a gender-specific basis. Average markups between 4 and 13 percent were found in the areas of children's clothing, toys, clothing, health and personal care products if the products were offered to women or girls. In 2015 and 2016, the Hamburg Consumer Center also found price checks of cosmetics and care products, but also of otherwise identical laptop bags in black and pink, of women 's and men's haircuts or of cleaning women's and men's clothing, price differences between 40 and 200 percent. A  2017 study by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency compared 1,700 products and 380 services and found gender-specific price differences for four percent of the products and 60 percent of the services. Although there were a few cases in the latter in which men were asked higher prices (e.g. entrance fees to clubs, fees for dating platforms), women were mostly the disadvantaged group in terms of price.

causes

In the case of a pink tax , the reason for the price differences is in very few cases the manufacturing costs for gender-specific products: the products are very similar or, apart from their external appearance, are even identical. It is assumed that the increased willingness of many women to spend money on appearance and body care is being exploited, combined with comparatively small and new markets for cosmetics and care products among men, who are to be won over as customers through low prices. The business magazine Forbes explains price surcharges for women's clothing, however, with the larger sales area and the additional personnel expenditure for the requirements for a larger selection that women therefore address to retailers.

activities

A ban on gender-specific prices is contrary to this practice in only a few countries, for example for services in the US states of New York and California . The EU Directive 2004/113 / EC aims to equate men and women with regard to access to and supply of goods and services, but primarily affects the gender-neutral structure of insurance tariffs. Politically, the German-speaking countries have so far focused on raising the awareness of female consumers, who are recommended to buy cheaper, male-specific products if they are equally suitable.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Iris an der Heiden, Maria Wersig : Price differentiation according to gender in Germany . Research paper. Ed .: Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency. December 20, 2017, p. 16 .
  2. ↑ an der Heiden, Wersig, p. 15
  3. ↑ From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer. A Study of Gender Pricing in New York City. (PDF) New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, 2015, accessed October 8, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Women pay more. Hamburg Consumer Center, accessed on October 8, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Price comparison: that's how much women pay! (PDF) Consumer Center Hamburg, February 2016, accessed on October 8, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Tina Groll : Pink pays more. In: Zeit Online. Die Zeit, December 20, 2017, accessed December 20, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Elisabeth Gamperl: Research: Being a woman is expensive. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 1, 2016, accessed October 8, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Simon Constable: 'Pink Tax' Accusations Are Like Bikinis: Short On Substance . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed October 31, 2016]).
  9. ↑ a b Sexist Prices: Why Women Pay More Than Men. In: Spiegel Online. Retrieved October 8, 2016 .