Crowds of citizens rallying against the “pink tax.” Photo under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 (No changes made)
The Pink Tax is a prevalent and continuous problem all over the world. Although called a tax, the pink tax is not an official tax. By description, the pink tax is social construct where femininely appearing products are up charged, only because they are for women. This is common for hygiene products, such as razors, body wash, or for clothing articles like hats and swimsuits.
A study by the New York Consumer and Worker Protection found that products targeted at women were marked up 7% compared to men’s products. This phenomenon affects children’s toys as well. The study shows a comparison of two scooters, one red and one pink, with an almost $25 difference.
Pink Tax exists in a multitude of countries, such as America, Argentina, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Australia. In countries like these, women often have to pay more for medical insurance.
According to Jaclyn S. Wong and Andrew M. Penner showed that women are more likely to spend money to improve their appearance. Likely stemming from the societal expectation for women to always look composed. One of the highest criticisms of the Pink Tax is promoting the idea that women are so insufficient that they are less financially stable than men. As tariffs are so prominent in the economy currently, they are likely why Pink Tax is a problem for the U.S.. Alongside the already prominent wage gap in the U.S., pink tax adds to the economic discrimination that women in this country face.
Taxing and Tariffs
Not only are the taxes negatively affecting women, but the new tariffs President Donald J. Trump put into place since returning to office also affect women. Based on the tariff schedule Trump has imposed, this will affect women nationwide. Over half of Americans in poverty are women and the cost of living is significantly higher for women of color, as many find themselves targets of discrimination in professional fields.
Besides tax increase, President Trump closed the Civil Rights Enforcement Offices upon his oval office return. This is including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (EEOC), which protects women from job and workplace discrimination. Effectively, this is adding another barrier in the way of working women. This difference also affects women’s retirement, specifically their 401k’s. According to the 2023 Bank of America Statistics, men’s balances in their accounts are about 50 percent higher than women’s balances, which is likely due to the wage gap. Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets at the Progressive Policy Institute, Edward Gresser, completed a research study finding that women pay more than 2 billion dollars a year because of pink tariffs.
Pink Tax Statewide
Since Oregon does not have a statewide sales tax, there are not higher prices on menstrual products. However, products used by both men and women are still marked up. In 2021, a bill passed by the Oregon Senate targeted pink tax, specifically regarding prescription medication.
Although, the pink tax is still a problem even to neighboring states like California. In 2016, Congresswoman Jackie Speier introduced the Pink Tax Repeal Act, which aimed to allow any product sold to men and women priced equally.
In addition, Speier advocated for the Gender Tax Repeal Act, which focused more on services rather than products. This law ensures that services like haircuts, house cleaning and laundry services are paid for equally, congress passing it in 2001.
