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Washington State NOW supports legislation that would prohibit the practice of charging men and women different prices for the same services (such as hair cuts and dry-cleaning).
Washington State NOW supports legislation similar to the SB6669 (1996 Legislative session) that would prohibit excessive charges for products and services, imposed because of an individual’s gender. This legislation would not prohibit price differences based specifically on the amount of time, difficulty, or cost of providing a product or service. The bill would not alter or affect laws that govern insurance underwriting or rating practices.
Research has shown that every day, women pay more than men do for virtually identical goods and services.
In a 1994 study in 5 major California cities, the California Assembly Office of Research found that 40% of hair salons contacted charged higher prices for women than men for basic haircuts; and that 64% of dry cleaning services charged more to launder a woman'’s shirt than a man'’s shirt. This California Assembly report (which was the basis for California outlawing gender based pricing in 1995) concluded that such overcharging amounted to $1,350 a year per woman.
In Massachusetts, the state attorney general'’s office sent surveys to dry cleaners to determine prices for men's and women'’s shirts. The results showed that women were being charged up to $2.50 more per item.
Two out of every three haircutters surveyed by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs charged women 25 percent more than men for a basic shampoo, haircut, and blow dry, averaging $20.00 for women versus $16.00 for men.
A 1995 survey of Olympia businesses found women were paying more for the same services at a number of establishments. Eighty - six percent of the dry cleaners surveyed charged women more. The price difference for button-up cotton shirts ranged from $3.75 to $0.25 at an average of $2.05. Thirty-six percent of haircutting establishments charged women more than they charged men for a basic short-hair haircut. The price differences for haircuts ranged from $15.00 to $2.00, at an average of $5.58.
A 1996 survey, requested by the state legislature, of Washington State businesses found women in a large percentage of cases were paying more for the same services. Seventy-one percent of the dry cleaners surveyed charged more to clean a woman'’s shirt than a ma'n’s shirt. The price difference ranged between $0.01 and $3.45, with an average difference of $1.23. For a basic haircut, women were charged more than men by 61 percent of the businesses surveyed. For those businesses that charged women more than men, women paid between $1.00 and $20.00 more, costing women on average $3.07 more than a man for a basic haircut.
Many department stores across the country charge women for alterations, while not charging men for similar alterations (i.e., shortening/hemming sleeves and cuffs).
There are establishments that do not charge differently for services provided to women and men. And there are very few establishments that charge men more than women. So why don'’t women simply "vote with their dollars" and avoid gender based pricing? This bill would provide all people with equal access to services. Asking women to "shop around", while men can receive "gender tax" free pricing at establishments nearest their homes does not provide equality. It says that women should have to invest their time and essentially work harder to receive the same service as offered to men. For women who make on average seventy cents to each man'’s dollar, gender based pricing is costly. This is not a women versus men issue; it is a consumer issue.
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