Assembly Passes Legislation to End Discriminatory Pricing for Gendered Goods
Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Nily Rozic today announced that the Assembly passed legislation to prohibit charging more for similar products on the basis of gender (A.629, Rozic).
"The Assembly Majority believes that being a woman should not come with a higher price tag," Speaker Heastie said. "Yet in a country where women make, on average, only 80 percent of what their male counterparts do, they are still charged more for everyday products. It's time for those practices to end. Ending discriminatory pricing on gendered products is a step in that direction."
"The pink tax is a form of institutionalized discrimination that continuously hits women's wallets from the cradle to the grave. It is no surprise that women spend significantly more money over the course of their lifetime on similar products," said Assemblymember Rozic. "We must ensure that the market works for every consumer and prevents discriminatory pricing solely based on gender."
A New York City Department of Consumer Affairs study found that, on average, products for women cost seven percent more than similar products for men. Over their lifetime, women spend significantly more money due to this discriminatory pricing.
The bill would prohibit businesses from charging consumers different prices for similar goods, based on the person's gender. This would eliminate the financial burden placed on women when purchasing products that are targeted to women, but perform the same function as men's products, such as razors and shaving cream. The bill would not prohibit retail establishments from passing on the price set by a manufacturer, distributor or other entity out of the control of the retailer.
"It is a sad reality that women bear the brunt of gender price disparities," said NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Lorelei Salas. "DCWP's report 'From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer,' found that women's products cost an average of seven percent more than similar men's products. This legislation would build on the City's existing gender pricing law to address price discrimination for consumer goods. It is time that we promote fairness in the marketplace and we are glad our agency's findings were a foundation for the protections in this bill."