Pink Tax…. is alive and well….

Nov 21, 2020

Pink Tax is a phenomenon often attributed as a form of gender-based price discrimination, with the name stemming from the observation that there is a broad tendency for products marketed specifically toward women to be more expensive than those marketed for men.(Wikipedia)

In South Africa a survey conducted by Use your Voice (UYV), compared prices of daily-use items including, razors, creams and clothing  and estimated that women pay 18% more for personal care products. This suggests that “Pink Tax” is alive and well. Women paid more for the following similar products:

Razor blades – R25    T-shirts R20    Vitamins – R16    Deodorant – R10

This raises some interesting questions for discussion over Pink Tax:

Are Women are less price elastic (sensitive to price increase)? An economic principle which relates to consumer behaviour towards price increases. 

Are Women more vulnerable to marketing tactics falling into the trap of… if it costs more it’s better?

Are governments aware of the phenomenon of Pink Tax as an extra source of revenue? May seem to be a conspiracy, however, there is extra tax collected from women than men from certain Pink Tax products. 

What women can do is heighten their awareness of Pink Tax and work on ways to resist it with their purse strings.