ABSTRACT
‘Shrink it, pink it and women will buy it to a higher price’ is an erroneous approach that cannot be used for elucidating the underlying reasons of the pink tax phenomenon. Trying to explain pink tax by the classic, yet biased, ‘women are the weaker sex’ argument is neither scientific nor valid. The pink tax is not an amount willingly paid by women for the symbolic value of pink products. It is not an amount reimbursed as a result of a persistent self-control problem, either. As demonstrated by the marshmallow test, women have an advantage in the cognitive self-control skills when compared to men. The pink tax is the direct result of a practice named ‘gender-based pricing’ put in place by the producers/providers of goods/services by means of gendered products and services. Gender-based pricing strategy is successful due to gender stereotypes that are firmly embedded in cultural and social life. The only way to efficiently counteract the practice of pink tax is government intervention. This being stated, governments seem to be reluctant to take action so as not to disturb the dynamics of the ‘free markets’.
