Does pink tax exist?♂️

Does pink tax exist?♂️

What is a pink tax?Pink tax is a term used for the tax that is paid by women (pink suggesting femininity) as a form of gender based price discrimination. In short, women are paying extra for being a… woman??

Talking about the color

Have you ever noticed the way girlhood and feminism are often associated with the color pink? Just from the concept of kinder joys being blue for boys and pink for girls, the stereotypical imagery attached to these colors tendto prevail. So, this is how our mindset has actually fixed this particular norm in the society as well in our psychology that the genders are today being differentiated on the basis of colors.

The pink tax, where women are made to pay more than men for same products and services, proves that the hurdles in a woman’s life don’t actually end with the emotional hustle. There is still a long way to go to stop facing these pangs of inequality at various points in life.

Does it exist in India?

Most of the people are unaware about pink tax. They don’t know if it prevails in India or not. This is because we don’t have any statistical data about the scenario taking place in our country which makes it seem non-existent.This may be because the tax and the article related to it was proposed in June 2018 (not that long before). When it comes to ensuring if the tax prevails in India.. then, people, it actually does!

The products including pink tax are Shower gels, body deodorants, razors, sanitary napkins, and many more. Just how it is..same ingredients, same results, just some more money to spend.Women already pay 12% extra luxury tax for something that is a normal biological phenomenon, sanitary napkins. Then why is a condom tax free.?

Aren’t we aware about how the government recently took steps regarding the sanitary napkins? Is PADMAN something unknown to us? So, come on, let’s not conform to the stereotypical norms of femininity being forced upon us even in an economical way and let’s spread the word.
Not being restricted only to the commodities, the services like body massage is biased towards your gender too, ladies! But have we ever questioned why so? Maybe because we are unaware.

What should be done?

We surely need to take some step and let this commercial discrimination come to an end. But, we as one entity cannot change the whole process. It is just the need of an initiative at the personal level.We, the people are the consumers and a consumer is the basic unit of the market. We buy products and that’s what makes most of the economy work. So, if we are that crucial part, why not to be the smart one at spending money.??

Boycott products that come with pricing policies that are gender discriminatory. Equality equally matters in every field.Let us be aware of what we really need for our bodies rather than merely believing or being lured by the advertisements. Be practical at judging goods and their prices.

Its small upon small making ‘large’. Some of us don’t really care if we are made to pay a bit extra for the products we buy with respect to the products that are bought by men. It’s just the way we don’t care about paying 1 rupee extra when the fare for Uber trip is 199/-. Well, this actually makes a difference. Women are the biggest consumers in the market and even the small bits matter much.

Article by Jennis Joy Jacob