When is it discriminatory for a company to charge more for women’s products than men’s? An appeals court has thoughts. I’m Amy E. Feldman
A woman who said women are charged a dollar more per stick of Dove’s Advanced Care Antiperspirant than men are charged for the similar Men’s Care Dove Antiperspirant filed a class action gender discrimination lawsuit, based on what has been called the “pink tax”—charging women more than men for comparable products. The trial court dismissed the claim so she appealed—and now the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled, affirming that the lower court was right to toss the claim because it said the woman who filed the case is mistaking gender-based marketing targeted to women—who then choose to pay the higher price for the product—for gender discrimination. But the court didn’t leave her without options, suggesting if her primary motivation is a lower price, she could buy the men’s deodorant.
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