First of all, let's look at the definition. What is Pink Tax?

首先我們來看看什么是所謂的粉紅稅.

Pink tax is a markup on goods and services marketed to women and for which men pay less for similar products and services.

所謂的粉紅稅指的就是營銷給女性消費者的這些貨品和服務上面的一個markup, a pricing markup or a markup in pricing, simply means higher price.

在講到價錢的時候, markup 就是一個價格加成, 也就是加價.

For instance, if you buy a cola in a restaurant, it's probably going to be a lot more expensive than in a supermarket. That is because restaurants have a markup on the drinks they serve.

比如說在餐廳里點酒水肯定比在超市買要貴不少, 這就是一個price markup.

So pink tax is a markup on goods and services marketed to women.

所以粉紅稅它指的就是針對女性營銷的產品和服務, 與賣給男性的類似的產品和服務相比較, 會有一個明顯的markup, 加價.

This phenomenon is often attributed to gender-based price discrimination.

Gender-based price discrimination也就是基于性別的價格歧視.

The reason why we call it pink tax is not really about stereotyping women. It simply is from the observation that many of the affected products are pink.

而為什么叫它粉紅稅?

不知道大家有沒有注意到, 比如說同樣一個品牌, 同樣都是賣洗發水, 賣給男士的, 通常是藍色的瓶子; 賣給女士的, 通常都是粉紅色的瓶子.

This is the word "pink tax" comes from.

Now in 2015, the issue got a lot of attention when New York City's department of consumer affairs found many instances of gendered pricing when it examined 794 products sold in the city for consumers of all ages.

粉紅稅這個事情并不是一個特別新的概念, 在2015年紐約的消費者事務部門就通過對市面上794種產品的觀察, 發現了有這樣的一個概念叫做gendered pricing, 也就是男女有別的定價.

However, researchers have been noticing and analyzing this phenomenon since at least the 1990s.

這個事情再往前倒, 在上世紀90年代末期就已經有人提出來并且觀察到了.

Although we call it pink tax, it's not really a tax, it's just a price markup.

So when a company sells a pink product, the female version for more than a blue product, the male version, the additional revenue from the pink product does not go to the government as tax.

為什么說它其實不是稅, 就是它多收了女性產品跟粉紅色產品的這些錢, 并不會作為稅收上交.

The only part that benefits from the pink tax are the companies that charge women more than men.

These gender-based price disparities are prevalent in several sectors and can be seen in many day to day products.

But one of the most visible is personal care products.

這種gender-based price disparities基于性別的價格差異, 在很多的日常產品里都能見到, 但是最明顯的是在 personal care products, 也就是個護產品.

These include, for example, soaps, lotions, razor blades, shampoos, and deodorants.

In the United States, one government study analyzed 800 gender-specific products from nearly 100 brands.

The report found that on average, personal care products marketed to women were 13% more expensive than similar men's products;

Accessories and adult clothing were 7% and 8% more expensive respectively.

美國的一個調查結果就表明:

個護類產品賣給女性的比男性的平均要貴13%, 配飾類, 成人的衣物類賣給女性的分別要比賣給男性的高7%, 8%.

Meanwhile, an analysis in the UK found that women's deodorant was on average 8.9% more expensive than men's, and women's facial moisturizer was about 34% more expensive.

而英國的數據顯示, 女性的 deodorant身體除臭劑要比男性產品貴8.9%, 而女性的 facial moisturizer臉部的保濕產品就比男性的要貴34%.

02 Why the pink tax exists

There are many reasons why the pink tax exists and there are many different voices.

For example, some people believe that women are more prepared than men to pay higher prices for their purchases.

Other reports suggest that women are more likely to spend more money on improving their appearances, because not doing so is associated with the risk of losing revenue.

關于粉紅稅出現的原因可以說是眾說紛紜, 其中就有不少人說這也是因為女性更愿意付更高的價錢, 特別是在個護類的產品上;

而且女性也更愿意為捯飭自己外貌這件事情買單。

其實現在有很多說什么 “服美役”, 從這個角度, 也就是說女性更多的感覺到需要 “服美役”。

You have to look attractive because especially for women, the more attractive you are, the more likely you are going to earn higher salaries, receive higher grades in school, and are more likely to be hired and promoted in the workplace.

But the pink tax has long imposed an economic burden on women around the world.

The major impact of the pink tax is that women have less purchasing power, especially paired with the gender-based pay gap.

In simple words, women actually earn less than men, however, are expected to pay more.

為什么很多人會來談論或者來抵制這種粉紅稅? 主要的原因就是它給女性增加了很多不必要的經濟負擔.

So the pink tax further contributes to the economic inequality between men and women;

And it is also argued they're paying more for goods and services marketed to women while women earn less to men, means men hold the majority of the purchasing power in the economy.

在這種情況下, 主要的購買力依然是在男性.

And furthermore, taxes on feminine hygiene products that men do not need further contribute to this discrepancy.

也有人提出來 feminine hygiene product, 婦女衛生用品, 比如說衛生巾、衛生棉條這樣的產品上面增加的附加稅, 也會給女性的經濟造成更大的負擔.

甚至在英語國家還有一個專門的詞叫做tampon tax, 也就是衛生棉條稅.

Although now, some countries in the world are talking about pushing back against the pink tax or tampon tax to address this discrepancy.

Now let's move on to the sample sentence.

例句示范

Sample Sentence：

-Pink tax is the concept where many kinds of products designed for women are more expensive compared to similar ones sold to men.