Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Has This To Say About ‘Shameful Pink Tax’

Indian billionaire entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has taken a clear stand against what is known as the Pink Tax, which refers to price differences based on gender. A veteran of the biotechnology sector and CEO of Biocon responded to a video on X (Formerly Twitter) that explained why items in the same category for women are significantly more expensive than those in the same category for males. Shaw has even advocated for “shunning such products.”

She retweeted a video that Dr Sanjay Arora shared on how certain companies charge women extra for things that are the same in size and quantity as they do for males. In the video, Dr Arora claims that the reason why women’s items in the same category cost much more than men’s products of the same size and quantity is due to an issue known as the pink tax, which occurs when women pay more for identical goods. He then provides a few instances from other businesses, such as cosmetics and apparel, where women pay more for similar things.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw tweeted the video on X, writing, “Pink Tax! A shameful gender bias that women must respond to by shunning such products!”

In the comments section, a user brought up the issue that women’s products generally have inferior quality to men’s. The user went on to say that there are “savings” for the producers since men’s garments always include pockets even when the so-called “man” is a 10-month-old while many typical women’s outfits do not.

Another said, “Absolutely agree. The question is how should we get around it? It seems a hard choice between buying male products or not buying these products at all.”

A user mentioned that he regularly highlights the higher prices of women’s products, noting the widespread presence of the pink tax. He expressed appreciation for Dr Arora for bringing attention to the issue and for Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for amplifying it.

“Hopefully, more voices will join in and push for the elimination of the pink tax.”

What is Pink Tax?

The term pink tax refers to pricing discrimination that drives up the price of products sold to women, rather than an actual government tax.

The topic gained prominence in 2015 when the Department of Consumer Affairs in New York City investigated 794 goods offered to customers of all ages in the city and discovered several instances of gendered pricing.

Since women still make less money than males, the Women’s Economic Forum claims that the discriminatory pricing has placed a financial burden on them.