Abstract: Gender-based price discrimination, or “The Pink Tax,” is an economic bias that sees one gender charged a different price for the same goods or services. This "tax" is commonly levied on feminine-marketed products. Thus, “female” goods targeting are comparatively more expensive than those marketed to males.  Previous research has confirmed the presence of gender-based price discrimination; this study expands this work by examining whether girls’ knowledge of these price disparities differs by high school type (single-sex or coeducational). Additionally, it evaluates the extent to which internalized sexism and/or relative masculinity vs. femininity contribute to adolescent girls’ knowledge. 

147 participants chose between a series of binary product choices (masculine-advertised or feminine-advertised). They also completed 1) The Traditional Masculinity-Femininity (TMF) scale and 2) a self-designed Internalized Sexism Scale. These instruments evaluated subjects’ attitudes towards masculinity/femininity and gender roles. Additionally, participants were asked to define gender-based price discrimination in a free-response question. Both quantitative and qualitative coding and statistical analyses were undertaken. Adolescent girls' masculinity/femininity index was strongly correlated with tendency to choose feminine-advertised products. Those who most accurately defined gender-based discrimination reported significantly lower levels of internalized sexism. Unexpectedly, no significant differences between girls attending a single-sex school and those enrolled in a coeducational institution were found for any dependent variable. This suggests a societal-level problem beyond the reach of school environment.

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