Being a woman is hard enough. Between menstruation, pregnancy, hormones and all types of other crazy girl things, life gets hectic. But did you know that being a woman can be more expensive than being a man?
Take your weekly trip to the store, for example. You browse the aisles for toiletries that you're in need of. You pick up a deodorant for yourself and take a peek at the male version. What you find is that the deodorant for men is cheaper than your deodorant.
Working in retail, I have noticed these subtle differences. A few customers have asked me about these gender pricing differences, and it left me appalled.
And these price differences don't only apply to grown women—it starts at birth.
I recall one instance where a woman brought up two onesies for an infant—one was geared toward a baby boy and the other was for a baby girl. The baby girl onesie was $2 more than the baby boy onesie. It confused me because the two were the same brand and the same material. The only thing that was different was the design.
"Over the course of a woman’s life, the financial impact of these gender-based pricing disparities is significant," the New York Department of Consumer Affairs said. It is "estimated that women effectively paid an annual 'gender tax' of approximately $1,351 for the same services as men."
The study also revealed that products geared toward women can cost, on average, 7 percent more than similar products for men.
This goes from toys to personal hygiene products to clothing. The only difference is a label.
Gender price differences are a huge issue, but on top of it all is a tax on necessary feminine products—such as tampons and pads.
The movement to get rid of the tampon tax is building. The argument is simple: Why should the government tax a product that is a basic necessity to women?
With the price difference for women's products and the taxing on feminine products, the cost of being a woman adds up.
Women still make less than a man, which makes this situation even worse.
To put it simply: Why is gender a factor when it comes to how much a product costs?
Gender is just an attribute to a human being. We are all human beings, and we are equal.
