If you’re anything like me, you drop an obscene amount of money at Target or Walgreens every couple of weeks on stuff that’s simply necessary—shampoo, tampons, razors, deodorant, all that jazz. What you may not know is that we, as women, are spending about $1,351 more than men every year on products and services such as toiletries, dry cleaning, apparel and even children’s toys. It’s called the Pink Tax, and it’s essentially causing women to pay more at the store while we make less at work… how does that make sense? (It doesn’t).

Gender-specific feminine self-care products such as razors, shaving cream, deodorant, toothbrushes, body lotion, etc. are consistently more expensive simply because they’re targeted towards women. What confuses me, as a consumer, is why products such as razors are gendered in the first place—as far as I know, my razor doesn’t need to be labeled ‘for her’ to properly shave my legs. Some women’s toiletries such as gendered shampoo and body lotion even contain less product than the male versions due to a phenomenon referred to as ‘shrink it and pink it,’ which is when manufacturers make products smaller and more expensive to make them seem more feminine and luxurious.

The Pink Tax isn’t only applied to self-care products, but also to goods like apparel, toys, and to services such as dry cleaning or haircuts. Not to mention that women also must pay steep prices for tampons and pads, for which we spend over $3,000 in our lifetimes, as well as makeup to be viewed by society as acceptable, professional, and conventionally beautiful. Although the Pink Tax is extremely unfair, we, as bSmart women, can sort of understand the genius strategy behind it—if the target market is willing to pay more for gendered products, why not hike up the prices?

Women often pay more at the store while we make less at work…how does that make sense? (It doesn’t).

It’s a clever business strategy that benefits from sexist stereotypes and can put women at an even larger disadvantage, especially regarding their finances. To avoid the Pink Tax and resist this gendered overcharging, be more vigilant the next time you go to the store and seek out gender-neutral products or even male products that work the same way as their female counterparts. Challenge brands by looking past labels and purchasing products and services that help you be the best woman you can be—without the flowery scents, pink box, and added couple of bucks.

I’m Stephanie Harris and I’m a rising junior at the University of Michigan studying Communications and English. I’m extremely passionate about writing and I love to learn new things, I’m always open to go on an adventure, whether that be traveling around the world or trying a new restaurant (I’m a HUGE foodie). I also really enjoy meeting new people so feel free to reach out!