Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider, girls go to college to get more….
Unequal? Women’s suffrage…what can I tell you about it? Well, I know there were many brave women back in the day who stood up against inequality and fought to get me a free pass to do whatever I want today. Is that all? No. I’ve just learned something that makes me think those brave women back in the day fought for something I should still be fighting for: women’s right to equality. I would think that in this day and age there would be no disparity in treatment due to my gender. But, after stumbling upon a recent Marie Claire article I realized that the signs of inequality continue to haunt our generation. And discovering where these ghosts linger made me want to stand on my feet and object even more. Take a look at how your gender can make that hole in your pocket even deeper….
Sales and Services. As if the notorious wage difference between men and women was not enough to get you on your feet and hollering for equality, women also have to pay more for many basic merchandise and services. Putting it into perspective, California was the first state in 1996 to ban gender pricing after finding that women on average paid about $1,351 more than men in sales and services. $1,351? It seems absolutely absurd that anyone would have to pay even a $1 more for the gender they were involuntarily born into, but according to hair-dressers and dry cleaners, doing work for women requires “more labor.” In 2009, Janet Floyd, a then 44 year old mother and missionary for gender equality, discovered that her husband’s almost identical yet larger oxford shirt from Brook’s Brothers only cost $7 to get dry cleaned, while her almost identical yet smaller oxford from Brooks Brothers cost $8.75. Is there any justification for paying an extra $1.75 JUST for being a woman? I would say absolutely not. Yet, for some reason we continue to pay more for haircuts, insurance, and even home mortgages.
As an economics major I can only say that this flaw in the system can be corrected by us. You would think the market would correct itself by women refusing to unfairly pay higher prices, but we don’t. Our ignorance of this inequality feed the ghosts that haunt us. It is our job to demand from our local legislators that gender price discrimination be banned. As if it is not expensive enough to be a woman, we are being blindly forced to pay more than our equal counterparts, and this is an injustice that we cannot allow to continue any longer. Ignorance is not bliss, and in this case facing the problem will not only help us save our pride, but also will allow us to keep a little bit more of our lower wages.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UVA chapter.