The pink tax is a market trend where women’s products are more expensive than similar men’s products. This discrimination is visible in everyday things like razor, shampoo, due to which women suffer financial loss throughout their life. This is a kind of economic discrimination.
What is Pink Tax in India: Women and men have to pay different prices for the same thing. This is a scam that often goes unnoticed by women, but it is prevalent in the market. This is called ‘Pink Tax’. Do not make the mistake of considering this as a direct tax imposed by the government. Pink tax is the practice in which higher prices are charged on goods and services marketed for women as compared to the same products marketed for men. Meaning, even for things of similar quality and usage, one has to pay more money just because they are labeled as ‘For Women’ or ‘Ladies Special’. Even though nothing is said about it anywhere in the laws, the impact of pink tax on daily expenses is huge.
In everyday life…
Pink tax is mostly seen in things that we use daily. For example, this gender discrimination is most visible on razors, shampoo, deodorant, perfume, clothes, girls’ toys and beauty products. The main difference is often just colour, packaging and marketing.
Now let’s see how the pink tax works. Companies assume that women will spend more money on self-care and beauty. Companies also adopt many strategies like ‘they have to look beautiful’ and ‘girls need extra care in many cases’. Despite this huge difference in price, it is not questioned, which proves beneficial for these companies.
Even if just one rupee more has to be paid due to this discrimination, the amount spent by women in their entire life is much higher. That is, in the same section of expenditure as men, women have to spend thousands, tens of thousands or even lakhs of rupees more in their entire life. Another truth is that it impacts low-income women the most.
Although the government has exempted menstrual cups and sanitary napkins from tax, companies are still charging exorbitant prices for many other items. This can be considered a type of economic discrimination. It is the responsibility of the customers to understand this injustice and raise their voice against it. Unless strong steps are taken against this price discrimination in the market, it is difficult to bring about change. Here equal price also means equal justice.