BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York is now one of the latest states to ban a "pink tax." It's an extra fee companies tack onto certain items for women.
Under this new law, businesses won't be able to keep charging women more on "substantially similar" consumer goods and services that men typically pay less for.
So why did companies even charge more in the first place?
"From an economic perspective, maybe a woman is willing to take on a higher price for an item that would be comparable to a man's item just to have it marketed toward a woman," Buffalo State College economics & finance professor Joelle Leclaire said.
Buffalo State Women & Gender Studies professor Ruth Goldman says that is considered gender discrimination.
"You see that in hair products, other personal care products. You see that in toys, so the pink toy in the same toy will literally cost be more expensive than the blue toy. You also see that in clothing and lots of other places," Goldman said.
That's exactly what was found in a study done a few years ago by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs.
It says the average overall price for goods was 7 percent higher for women than for men.
Goldman says that can make a huge impact when there's already a gender-wage gap.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women are making about 81 cents for every dollar a man earns.
"All of that adds up, adds up to a lot of money so that over the course of their lifetime, women are spending a lot more money than men on products that they need," Goldman said.
Leclaire says when it comes to companies complying with the ban now, from a global perspective, she expects the price of men's items to increase, whereas women's items could be reduced slightly.
"Most of the people who are doing the consumption decisions in the households are women, so if that's the case and women don't see the price go down and see the male prices stay the same, then they're going to wonder or not whether the pink tax actually has been banned and is being effectively and legally pursued," Leclaire said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office says if businesses don't comply, they will be fined.
If you notice one isn't, you should contact the Division of Consumer Protection.
