Gender Pricing is real.

So, we all know that women tend to make $.78 for every $1 a man brings home working in the same positions...[Source1][Source2][Source3][Source4-Really?]

But that's not all! Just in time for holiday shopping, the city of new york just published a study that proves women can also pay higher prices for the same products up to %48 of the time. Slap some pink on there, use less fabric, et voila: a "female" version that's more expensive because...reasons.

Think I'm exaggerating?

Clothing for adults and children:

Expect to pay more if you're female, whether you're a baby:

A child:

Or an adult:

Maybe a difference of $2 for the children's shirts and baby towels can be dismissed as negligible. A $10 difference for the t-shirts is more obvious, and add the sale reduction and it gets absurd. But a $30 price difference for dress shirts without a sale price reduction to blame? Honey, if you want a boyfriend shirt, just buy your boyfriend's shirt and save $30.

What is the excuse for baby towels being more expensive when bought in pink and purple as opposed to blue? What possible reason could there be for higher prices for the shirts in these examples? The shirts for girls and for women use less fabric than their male counterparts, yet cost more.

Maybe fashion is a very adult-centric industry, surely there wouldn't be much difference for childrens' toys, right?

Children's toys:

Someone explain this to me. Does pink plastic really cost that much more?

Maybe we'll have better luck in the personal care isle, where items by the same brand have the same ingredients and come in the same size.

Personal Care:

Hmm... Why pay more for a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner when I could pay less and get the men's 3-in-1? At least VO-5 didn't charge more to receive less in function AND in amount like Degree: 2.7 vs 2.6 oz in the deodorants, with a lower amount of active ingredient in the women's version.

Well, of course men's razors need to be cheaper - they usually shave their face everyday (except when growing a beard, or they feel lazy and just say they're growing a beard). Whereas we women don't shave our face everyday, but usually only shave legs and underarms - and other body parts - everyday... Hmm...

This can't get worse, can it?

Senior care products:

Oh, it can get worse. and it will:

Is there really a difference in adult diapers? ...I can't explain this, and I don't want to. To read the full report with statistical breakdowns and even more examples that will make you sangry (sad + angry = sangry. I made it up.) view the PDF here.

Thankfully, the city of New York @nycgov (@NYCDCA) is taking action to stop #GenderPricing altogether by crowdsourcing information. If you see an example while you're gift-shopping, report them by tweeting @NYCDCA.

I am so proud of my city for recognizing and documenting this nonsense and making an effort to stop it. Using a crowdsourced effort to stop gender pricing is a total #onlyinnewyork moment, but it should be a worldwide practice. 

Rachel Smyth is a Full-stack Developer at STATIONHEAD. She eats, sleeps and breathes code in New York City. Just kidding, she never sleeps. You can find her on twitter as @RachelScodes or at a meetup for female alumni of her bootcamp (the FA of GA).