Annoying fact-- before I had a baby, and gained a permanent 15 lbs, I had to take my slim hips and buy my underwear in the girls’ department, when it is very poorly made.
Finally discovered that boys’ boxer briefs were really comfortable, and lasted forever. FINALLY finally found that if I bought my underwear online, I could get a smaller adult size not available in stores, and “girl shorts,” aka boxer briefs for women. That underwear is really expensive-- like $16/pr. But it honestly lasts forever. I am still wearing underwear I bought 12 years ago, and it looks almost new. And I wash it on hot.
I really felt creepy buying my underwear in the kids’ section. I was fine with buying other clothes there, like pants and socks, but the underwear was squicky.
I’m the opposite. I have very large hands for a woman, despite not being extremely tall (I’m now 5’9"). Regarding tools, my dad bought me a pink toolbox when I moved into my first condo. I broke one of the screwdrivers the first time I used it. Just junk.
The hand issue I have is with winter gloves. The only women’s gloves that fit are the stretchy Isotoner women’s ones in XL. If I want a nice pair of leather gloves, I have to wear men’s, which I find clunky and unattractive. Same with gardening gloves and working around the house gloves.
In the spirit of fighting ignorance and from the POV of someone who’s worked in Marketing for many years & set pricing (including “pink premiums”) and now teaches Marketing:
Yes the “pink tax” is real, female targeted products & services are priced higher than comparable male targeted products (or generically targeted products).
While some of you may want to nitpick around specific "tailored products"n and find individual exceptions etc, this is a fact for many brands and is very well documented. There are many valid cites up thread.
The reason for this is very straightforward - every manufacturer’s goal is to maximize revenue & profit. To accomplish this they set prices for individual products at the maximum price that the target market will bear.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is not really a factor. Manufacturers have a minimum profit threshold with respect to COGS. Although many of you are looking for this as rationale, beyond hitting that minimum level.
The next question is:
Why are women willing (for the most part) to pay higher prices? There are a couple reasons:
#1 Women are used to paying more and generally accept it without question.
Historically many women’s products & services were more expensive to produce so providers did legitimately charge more for them (a full salon cut does cost more labour than a 15 minute trim, a frilly silk blouse does cost more to make etc). Over time women became accustomed to paying more for products and services.
#2 ) Modern marketing efforts have worked hard to convince them (and other target groups) that the price premium is valid and worth it.
Marketing works to convince the target market that their wants and needs are unique and the product being sold to them is specially tailored to meet those wants and needs and they should pay a premium for that tailoring. This is true whether we are talking about an F-150 pick-up or a tampon.
Bottom Line: The “pink tax” does exist and is well documented. It exists because historically some products and services cost more to make or deliver and even though (broadly speaking) they don’t now, women have been trained to pay more and they accept it plus modern Marketing efforts reinforce this positioning.
Why? What harm does it do you that you’re willing to pay more to avoid it?
Incidentally, in this recent episode of the 99 Percent Invisible podcast about public restroom design, some transgender people refer to “the tax” imposed on being transgender in public, not in terms of literal monetary cost, but always facing the risk of unpleasant interactions with people who object to your merely being present.