The Secret Woman Tax? Help End Price Discrimination in the US

Have you ever noticed how much more we pay for clothes, shampoo and almost every thing than our male counter parts? I was in a major retail store yesterday and both Big and I were looking for shaving supplies and lotion. His lotion, razors and shaving cream were at least $2-3 less expensive than anything I had in my basket, what the hell right?

So I did some poking around on the internets, and it turns out almost everything from deoderant to jeans we pay more as women. According to digitaleconommist.com this is what's know as "Third Degree price discrimination", the charging of different prices based on different consumer groups.

Companies spend millions every year on finding out how much people are willing to pay for certain products or services. Basically as women we pay more because we must, almost all of our consumable products cost anywhere from 10-14% more than men and it's completely legal according to Uncle Sam.

 According to an article in Marie Claire: California, which in 1996 became the first state to ban gender pricing, found that women paid about $1,351 annually in extra costs and fees. Apply that figure to the rest of the women in the country and the total burden is staggering — roughly $151 billion in markups, more than what the federal government spent on education last year and greater than the budgets of 43 states.
Read more: Sex Discrimination and Gender Bias - Why Do Women Pay More Than Men - Marie Claire

 Marketing companies find out how much we are willing to pay for items and then report their finding to the company producing certain kinds of products like hair acessories or jeans. Based on test groups, market research and consumer behavior reports, women are forced to spend more on comparable items than men.

But is this because women just don't care how much we spend? We know this isn't true, everyone in the country and around the world has had to adjust in this new economy, so why is it okay for your salon to charge $8 for a trim for a man and you $12 just because you're a woman? Can it really be that different?

 Help end the Tax on Women, right to your Senator or Congress person today, a list is available by state at
http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/women-pay-more-contacts

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