‘Pink tax’: Calls grow to scrap ‘unfair’ prices on women’s products
Some Canadian high school girls want to take their “pink tax” fight to the House of Commons, calling on the federal government to scrap an “unfair pricing practice” that research suggests discriminates against women.
A recent petition started by Sofia Ambroziak, a Grade 11 student in Ottawa, and two other schoolmates, is urging officials to take action so that women in Canada don’t have to pay more than men for daily essentials, like toiletries and clothing.
The petition, which has received nearly 11,000 signatures as of Thursday, was launched in February as part of an annual school competition organized by Voices of Olympia Canada.
Ambroziak, 16, told Global News the girls have already sent letters to different MPs about their campaign and hope to have the petition tabled in the House of Commons. She said she wants to see legislative action on the “pink tax” in the upcoming federal budget.
“We really want to push for the government to approve legislation or a law that will prohibit this discriminatory tax,” said Kaarhunyaa Sivapalan, who is one of the participants.
Growing up with three brothers, Nagwa Abdelaziz, 17, said she has seen the “pink tax” her entire life with differences in everyday purchases.
“It’s actually gotten to the point where my mom started to buy me men’s razors just because they’re cheaper and they even work better, which is just disappointing to see that such a simple thing could be used against women just to make a profit,” Abdelaziz told Global News in an interview.
The term “pink tax” was coined in the 1990s to describe difference in pricing between gendered products, with women’s items costing more than the men’s, said Janine Rogan, a chartered professional accountant in Calgary and author of
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