Attorney General Rob Bonta Addresses ‘Pink Tax’ Violations

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a consumer alert on Monday, reminding Californians of their rights under AB 1287 , which prohibits businesses from charging different prices for substantially similar goods based on the gender of the product’s target audience — a practice known as the “Pink Tax” when used to charge women higher prices than men for essentially the same goods. The alert coincided with Women’s Rights Day .

On average, Bonta’s office noted products marketed to women cost 7% more than those marketed to men and as much as 13% more for personal care products. AB 1287, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), went into effect on January 1, 2023, and is enforceable by AG Bonta. If you have seen or been a victim of gender-based price differences that you believe violate the law, please file a complaint at oag.ca.gov/report .

“The Pink Tax is a sexist practice that is illegal in California,” Bonta noted. “Women, especially Black and Latinx women, are paid less than their white, male counterparts in the same roles, yet have to spend more than men to buy very similar products. California consumers have the right to shop without fear of discrimination. I encourage consumers to be aware of their rights under California’s Pink Tax Law and to file a complaint if they believe there have been violations of this law.”

Author Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan said, “Unequal prices for women translate to impacts for their own financial wellbeing as well as that of their families. This also exacerbates the already-existing gender gap in financial inequality. Around 80% of product volume is gender-targeted.…Closing these unnecessary and burdensome gaps is an important step toward gender equality.”

Darcy Totten, Interim Executive Director of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls , noted that women not only pay more for their products, but are still earning less than male counterparts. “The fact that some companies may continue charging more for a product simply because it is marketed to women is a sexist penalty that is now illegal,” Totten said. Like Attorney General Bonta, she urged anyone who has been a victim of gender-based price differences to file a complaint. She emphasized the importance of women and girls in our state knowing their rights “as we collectively remove one of the last pillars of commercial gender discrimination to ensure women equal access to products without paying a ‘tax’ for their gender.”

In passing California’s Pink Tax Law, the Legislature cited considerable evidence of the existence of the “Pink Tax,” including a 2015 study showing that girls’ or women’s products cost more than similar products for boys or men 42% of the time.

Some examples of products where gender-based pricing may be found include:

• Toys and accessories (e.g., pink vs. red bikes and scooters, pink vs. blue helmets, arts and crafts)
• Children’s clothing
• Adult clothing
• Personal care products (e.g., hair care products, razors and razor cartridges, lotions)
• Senior/home health care products (e.g., personal urinals, supports and braces, canes)

AB 1287 does not prohibit charging different prices for goods that are seemingly alike, but different for reasons that do not have to do with gender-based marketing. These reasons include differences in:

• The amount of time to manufacture the goods
• Difficulty of manufacturing the goods
• Cost incurred to manufacture the goods
• Labor used to manufacture the goods
• Materials used to manufacture the goods

Women make up as much as 85% of consumer purchases in the United States, and face higher prices not just for gender-based products but also for seemingly neutral products, including mortgage rates . Compounded by the gender pay gap, unequal pricing translates into unjust and harmful financial impacts for women and their families, Attorney General Bonta’s alert stated. Wealth inequality disproportionally affects women and women of color. Women earn approximately 82% of what men earn. For every  dollar earned by white men, Latinx women earn 65 cents . AB 1287 disrupts this cycle by holding those who still charge the Pink Tax accountable.

More information on AB 1287, California’s Pink Tax Law, is available on AG Bonta’s Pink Tax web page.

The post Attorney General Rob Bonta Addresses ‘Pink Tax’ Violations appeared first on Alameda Post .