Why Women in China Still Pay More for Less

On a recent quest to buy a new laptop, Han Kexin spent more time researching than buying.

After spending hours on e-commerce sites, she discovered that laptops marketed to women prioritized style over content. These models offered chic designs but weaker specs, such as shorter battery life and less powerful graphics, all at higher prices.

Electronics products are often presented as masculine, suggesting that women are not interested in or understand technology, Han, a graduate student in Shanghai, told Sixth Tone. Brands try to attract women by offering attractive male celebrities and sleek, colorful laptops in pink or silver hues.

But pink is more than just a color: it’s a cost. For most women, buying gadgets, clothes, or personal care products means paying more for items that are meant for them than for men, often without any added benefits.

Prevalent for years around the world and dubbed the pink tax, the practice recently sparked debate in China when a group of university students initiated Legal proceedings against cosmetics giant L'Oréal.

They highlighted a price disparity between gender-specific facial cleansers, with the women's version selling for 67 yuan ($9.24) more despite having nearly identical compositions, effects and volumes compared to its male counterpart.

The students filed a lawsuit seeking a full refund, arguing that the disparity constituted price discrimination and a violation of the principle of fairness to consumers. OL offered a full refund, provided the students agreed not to discuss the matter publicly.

Fearing that this would harm future consumer rights advocacy, the students refused the deal. Eventually, court mediation led to the withdrawal of the complaint and a full refund without any restrictive conditions.

Despite this legal challenge, the practice remains deeply rooted in many sectors beyond cosmetics.

Although China has no explicit regulations against the pink tax and few investigations have been conducted, a 2022 survey project The School of Media and Communication at Shenzhen University analyzed more than 20,000 product listings on the e-commerce platform JD.com.

The results revealed that women's products, ranging from children's toys to adult clothing and elderly supplies, were often priced higher than similar items aimed at men, despite not having significant differences in basic characteristics.

Xie Libin, a professor at the Institute of Sino-German Law at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, uses pink tax cases in his classes to teach students how to analyze and assess injustices. It is both a gender and consumer rights issue, he said, adding that current Chinese laws can reduce or eliminate the pink tax if implemented properly.

But with resources limited, more and more young Chinese are turning to social media to understand and help each other circumvent the pink tax. Online communities share tips and tricks, such as comparing prices during major shopping holidays or searching for neutral product descriptions to find better deals.

Fair trade

Dai Fu, a Beijing law student who has been following the L'Oréal affair closely, recently discovered a simple trick to get around the pink tax: shopping online in the men's section.

While browsing Pinduoduo, the Chinese online shopping platform known for its rock-bottom prices, she discovered that a plain T-shirt was available in the men's section for just 40 yuan.

Yet in the women's section, the same shirt was sold for more than 100 yuan because it was marketed under the JK style, a popular Japanese street fashion inspired by school uniforms.

Since then, I've noticed that men's clothing is generally more comfortable than women's and less expensive, the 20-year-old tells Sixth Tone.

The disparity is more pronounced for skin care and beauty products. For women’s products, it seems like companies are adding countless unnecessary features, like multiple skin care steps, Dai says. In contrast, men’s products emphasize convenience, speed and accessibility.

Han finds it harder to avoid the pink tax. She regrets that I have to put extra effort into carefully selecting products, and even then, I am not always able to spot pink tax pitfalls on e-commerce platforms.

When she searches for athletic shorts online, the platform tends to prioritize women’s options based on Hans’s purchase history. To avoid the pink tax, she has to meticulously compare fabrics and look for men’s shorts in the right size. If every purchasing decision requires that level of time and energy, the time saved could be better spent on more meaningful activities, she says.

Han is not alone. On the social platform Douban, more than 26,000 members of the Pink Tax Resisters Alliance share strategies to avoid the pink tax, discuss gender issues and organize boycotts against brands that practice gender-based pricing.

During major Chinese festivals, such as 618 and Double Eleven, the group compares sale prices to regular prices and exchanges tips for improving search keywords. For example, by searching for terms like men's yoga mats instead of yoga mats, they find cheaper alternatives to women's products.

Other Douban groups such as Dont Buy It and Frugal Women's Union, made up mainly of lower-middle-class women, exchange money-saving tips and offer advice on avoiding consumerist pitfalls.

Chinese consumers have also become more aware of the pink tax thanks to social media influencers. video Since May 2022 on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the discussion on the pink tax has collected more than 460,000 likes.

The video estimates that women could end up spending 680,000 yuan more over their lifetime than men, a staggering figure that sparked heated discussions among viewers and brought the practice to the attention of many netizens for the first time.

While social media has been beneficial, Han says it has not been effective in disseminating actionable information.

They acknowledge the existence of the pink tax without proposing any measures to address it, she says. Han says she has tried to raise awareness among her family and friends about the pink tax, but she respects their decisions if they show resistance or conflicts arise.

It's not something that people are necessarily going to accept just because you're trying to persuade them or pressure them. Aligning knowledge with action can be difficult, she says.

Dai agrees. After watching videos about the pink tax, she often discusses it with her friends. However, their conversations are usually limited to complaining about how it happened, without going into the subject in depth. Most of the participants in these discussions are students, who simply view the phenomenon as a social phenomenon.

Although the power of a single individual may seem insignificant, if people practice rational consumption and resist excessive price increases, they can protect their own rights, Dai explains.

Toni Yang, an independent brand consultant based in Shanghai for 14 years, says brands are increasingly paying attention to criticism that they overly exploit female psychology to create demand and produce anxiety.

She believes that if a brand understands women's inner needs and turns that into a positive social impact, consumers might still be willing to pay a slightly higher price.

Pricing strategy includes not only all kinds of costs and investments, but also the value of the brand and product. That's why luxury products have obvious production costs but large margins, and yet consumers buy them, Yang explains.

According to her, as gender sensitivity increases, brands are working to avoid the risks associated with gender topics and build deeper connections with their target audience.

According to her, consumers are increasingly diverse and make purchasing decisions based on their identity, values ​​and needs. Pricing strategies should focus on providing value-added services and experiences tailored to different audience profiles, not gender. After all, an important step towards gender equality is accepting that men can also like pink.

Originally from Shanxi province in northern China and now working in the United States, Gao Peng encounters similar disparities when shopping abroad. Hair removal products for men are typically $3 to $4 cheaper than those for women, but they work the same way, she says.

Gao points out that the pink tax is not universally recognized by consumers. Some women see a benefit in paying more, enjoying the privilege of beauty and receiving praise from men for adhering to feminine stereotypes, the 26-year-old says.

She finds the current situation frustrating. She is willing to sign a petition against the pink tax and share her opinions on social media, but she struggles to find other ways to support the cause.

Although many advocate eliminating this unfair price discrimination, there are still women who are willing to pay the pink tax, Gao said.

In the future, Dai believes the pink tax will be difficult to eradicate, as only a minority of women are actively voicing their concerns.

On the other hand, Yang sees potential for change. As consumer groups continue to diversify, the market will naturally eliminate rules that are not adaptable, she says. With growing awareness of gender equality, the pink tax phenomenon will gradually disappear as it becomes less viable in the market.

Additional reporting: Qi Wenqian; editor: Apurva.

(Header image: Visuals by VCG, reissued by Sixth Tone)