Publications
Publications
- February 13, 2023
- Time
The Secret Tax on Women’s Time
By: Lauren C. Howe, Lindsay B. Howe and Ashley V. Whillans
Abstract
When studies revealed the so-called pink tax, showing in 2015 that personal hygiene products “for her” cost 13% more than similar products for men, it caused outrage and action. The irony that women, despite generally having fewer financial resources than men, are charged more for everyday goods and services even spurred French policymakers in 2014 to investigate this “secret tax” targeting women, and the U.S. Congress in 2016 to introduce a “Pink Tax Repeal Act” prohibiting gender-based pricing discrimination. But, as interviews and studies across the world reveal, there is also an unaddressed pink tax on women’s time: A global epidemic of women lacking time to conduct the activities of their everyday lives that men simply do not experience. Though a lack of time can be just as important for women’s well-being as a lack of financial resources, losses of time often go overlooked. To pursue a more gender-equal future, we need to expand the notion of the pink tax to consider time as another vital resource in which women face inequalities.
Keywords
Citation
Howe, Lauren C., Lindsay B. Howe, and Ashley V. Whillans. "The Secret Tax on Women’s Time." Time 201, nos. 5-6 (February 13, 2023): 29.