It's bad enough women and mothers in the workforce are paid less than men, but studies have shown that women also pay more for specific products and services.
On Oct. 5, an EU ruling announced that by the end of December, U.K.'s insurers would be banned from taking gender into consideration when setting premiums for customers, according to The Guardian. Statistics in the U.K. for driving habits, however, don't really match up: Young men are more likely to drive faster, later at night and cause more fatalities than women, the Guardian reports.
In Canada, things are a little different. Women still pay less for car, home and life insurance, according to Moneyville.ca, but studies show that retailers continue to charge women more for haircuts, dry cleaning and car repairs.
In a March feature, Marie Claire found that women paid more for everything from beauty products like deodorant and soaps, to household services like mortgages and health insurance. In another experiment, one B.C. reporter went to a local drugstore and found price tags for items like shaving gels and eye moisturizers were always pricer for women — even if they came from the same company.
"A study by researchers at the University of Central Florida examined some 200 sticks of deodorant sold at major drugstore chains and found that sticks for women cost, on average, 30 cents more per ounce than those for men, even when the only discernible difference was scent," according to Marie Claire.
This type of gender-based discrimination or "gendered pricing" has already been tackled by some cities. New York, for example, found at least 138 violations for local businesses who set different prices based on gender, according to to The Washington Journal. In 2005, Ontario tried to push a bill to eliminate gendered pricing for haircuts, dry cleaning and clothes, according to the CBC. By December, this bill went to the Standing Committee and a final decision was never made.
LET US KNOW: What have you paid more for compared to the males in your life?
ALSO: Here are some common items women tend to pay more for:
Things We Pay More For Than Men
Haircuts
Generally, women pay more for haircuts than men, according to a study in Marie Claire. All you need to do is look at the prices at your local salon to see this is true.
Dry Cleaning
A 2011 investigation in British Columbia found that women pay up to three and a half times more for dry cleaning compared to men. One dry cleaner priced a man's shirt at $2.35 and a woman's blouse for $8.49.
New Cars
One Yale study found that some dealers quoted lower prices to white males than to females when it came to buying a new car — and black women fared even worse.
Shaving Gels
One report from CTV B.C. found that an 11-ounce can of men's shaving gel from London Drugs sold for $1.99, while a seven-ounce can for women retailed for $2.49. This is an increase of almost 20 per cent.
Body Wash
The same report also found that men's body washes cost one-third less than body wash for women.
Deodorant
A study from the University of Central Florida found that deodorant sold at major drugstore chains cost 30 cents more per ounce for women.
Mortgages
Some studies from the U.K. and the U.S. found that women were more likely to pay higher interest rates on mortgages than men with similar incomes. While a lack of bargaining when it came to rates was the biggest factor, studies also found that discrimination — including being rejected for mortgages altogether — came into play.
Car Repairs
According to a 2009 survey, 42 per cent of Canadian women said they thought they were quoted higher prices for car repairs for being a woman, according to WalletPop.ca.
Health Insurance
In the U.S., one report found that women paid more for health insurance than men, according to the New York Times.
Jewellery
Generally, women pay more for fine jewels than men. Just by comparing prices, a plain wedding band for men, as seen on the Birks site, costs more than a plain wedding band for women.