Pink Tax Pricing Strategy Affecting Brand Equity, applied on: Gillette

Abstract

Sexism and gender discrimination have been embedded in our societies throughout history and although women were partially able to earn their rightful positions in today’s communities, they are still being aggressively oppressed in terms of gender-based pricing (Salman & Ayoubi, 2019). 1 Pink tax is essentially recognized by the media as a gendered discrimination pricing strategy. Pink tax is a phrase used to describe the extra price of specific products that are focused on women, which are the exact copy of those that are targeted at men. Furthermore, the media also refers to pink tax in order to whine about the expenses of just being a woman, while males do not have these expenses. Despite the fact that products are modified for every gender, which may also count as gender discrimination in prices, it is usually welcomed and accommodate since there is a minor difference. On the other hand, when an extra price is placed on women directed products that are exactly identical to those that are directed at men, consumers find it hard to accept these products and hard for businesses to give ground for since the products are exactly the same.2 The word “pink” in this case constituted for the extra price that females pay on femalebased products, which are identical to those that are male-based. Moreover, companies like BIC normally use pink tax on shavers that are the same as male shavers, but cost about 2.59$ in addition to the cost of the male- based razor. The key difference in the pricing strategy was shown to be the target customer, being females. Even though Pink tax is a recurring phenomenon in most markets of different countries, it has been shown that not all females are adequately aware of the concept and the possible threats it may pose. Furthermore, women who compare prices on a per-unit basis and pay attention to feminized goods are those that can easily notice the difference in the pricing strategies targeted at women, as opposed to those targeted at men (Stevens & Shanahan, 2017). 3 Furthermore, Pink Tax applies when the application of tariffs on imports for gendered goods is a previously unacknowledged fiscal policy that directly affects women. These import taxes, which may differ between otherwise similar gender based products (for example, women's cotton shirts and men's cotton shirts), also penalise women as consumers.We notice that imports of women's goods are taxed 0.7 percent higher than imports of men's goods when we compared approximately 200,000 pairs of tariff rates on men's and women's items across 167 countries. These tax penalties, which compound as wholesalers and retailers trade, are a powerful predictor to the ongoing end-point price discrimination that women face, aslo known as the gender wage gap (Betz, Fortunato & O’BRIEN, 2021).4 Currently, there are no governmental regulations or laws that prohibit manufacturers and marketers, to charge distinguishable prices on similar products based on gender or who the product is meant for (Burns, 2020)5. Media, in all its forms, has a fundamental influence on many societies, linking them together. Furthermore, media has been shown to affect the social formation of gender roles, images and processes. People and businesses’ dependence or use of media results in them making assumptions according to the social formations proposed by social media mainly. Instead of businesses making assumptions and taking decisions according to the biological differences between males and females, they make decisions according to the cultural issues present. Furthermore, studies have shown that males and females have psychological factors in common and help a business achieve an inner market diversity. Regardless, the assumption that men and women are distinct and should be treated differently according to gender stereotypes is quite common. This is because gender is now acknowledged mainly according to the different actions and forecast of future possible actions of each gender. The formation of gender identities, mainly through media, poses a threat because of the fact that it may force consumers to switch to buying patterns that are surely beyond their capacity and usual preferences. Media and communication, being the primary sources of gender identities, assigns genders with specific attributes that are socially recognized (Manzano, 2018).6 These gender identities, even though far from accurate, are now the indicators of actions taken by businesses and their used strategies. This research will shine light on the concept of pink tax, the factors leading to it and the problem it poses.