Women, who statistically already make less money than men on average, may pay a premium for items marketed to them simply because they aren’t aware of this so-called “pink” tax. “Manufacturers can find some consumers who are not aware of price
differences or are willing to pay for something that’s really the same as the male version,” says Ian Parkman, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Portland. “[With razors], the blue version [might be] $1.99, and the pink razor [might be] $2.50, but pink plastic versus blue plastic can’t explain the price difference. Some items marketed to women not only cost more but actually contain less of the product because manufacturers make the product smaller and more feminine-looking, an approach called “shrink it and pink it.”
To read the whole story,
The Pink Tax: Why Women’s Products Often Cost More – U.S. News & World Report, February 17, 2016 written by Susan Johnston Taylor.