What is the pink tax? Meaning, examples and what the GAO found
The pink tax is the idea that products marketed to women cost more than similar ones for men. Here is what the GAO found when it looked at the prices.
Checked October 22, 2026
The pink tax is the term for women's products costing more than men's versions of similar products. It is not an actual tax. It is a price gap.
What the pink tax is
Nobody collects a pink tax. The phrase describes prices: a deodorant, razor or shaving cream marketed to women costing more than a close match marketed to men.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied it in 2018. It does not define the term. It raises it as a question: is there a pink tax, where women's products cost more than men's?
What the GAO found
GAO looked at 10 categories of personal care products and, after accounting for product size and other factors, found a mixed picture. Prices were higher for women in five categories, including several deodorants, shaving cream, designer perfume and body spray.
In two, men's items cost more: nondisposable razors and shaving gel. For three others, disposable razors, razor blades and mass market perfumes, there was no clear difference.
GAO also says the gaps do not necessarily prove a pink tax. It could not fully account for advertising costs or for differences in what consumers are willing to pay, and either could partly explain a gap.
What to do about it, and why it matters in a shared budget
The practical point is that a label can add to the price. It can help to compare the unit price of a product with a similar one in the other aisle. In a household, if both of you use the same kind of product, one purchase can cover both.
What a small gap adds up to (made-up numbers)
- Two similar razors, same size: one is $6.00 and one is $5.00
- Difference per purchase: $6.00 - $5.00 = $1.00
- Bought once a month: $1.00 x 12 = $12 a year
- Across five products at that gap: $12 x 5 = $60 a year
More words like this in money words, in plain English.
Questions people ask
What is the pink tax?
A term for women's products costing more than similar products marketed to men. It is a price gap, not a tax.
Is the pink tax real?
GAO found women's versions cost more in five of 10 personal care categories and men's cost more in two. It says the gap does not necessarily prove a pink tax.
Does the GAO say the price gaps are caused by gender bias?
It says not necessarily. It could not fully account for advertising costs or what consumers are willing to pay.
Where does the pink tax show up most?
In GAO's study, deodorants, shaving cream, designer perfume and body spray.
Sources
1 source · read October 22, 2026
Every number on this page comes from gao.gov. If a source has changed since, the source is right.
Wonderful gives general information. It isn't a financial or tax advisor.