Is Gender-Based Pricing Fair?

[Yurt]

I know this piece deals with Canada, however, I thought it an interesting discussion for us folks in the southland too.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Most women, accustomed to paying more than men for goods and services like clothes and hair cuts, simply shrug it off as part of life, but an Ontario legislator hopes to end all that.



Lorenzo Berardinetti wants to brand so-called gender-based pricing a human rights violation and he has introduced a bill in the Ontario legislature to make the practice illegal.


Berardinetti said on Tuesday he was shocked when he and his wife took clothes to a dry cleaners and she ended up paying more for similar items.


"I get charged one price and she gets charged another price for virtually the same material," he said.


Berardinetti said that opened his eyes to an experience women have long learned to deal with, namely higher prices for clothes, shoes, hair cuts and other services.


"The bill would ... amend the human rights code in Ontario to make gender pricing discriminatory and it would also allow for penalties to be levied from C$2,000 to C$5,000," he said.
Link

 

[Gem]

As a woman, I can say that I think this is nonsense. There are legitimate reasons for most of the prices being higher.

1) Dry Cleaners: Most men do NOT have dry clean only dresses, blouses, skirts with pleats or delicate applique work like beading, etc. Men dry clean suits, ties, maybe sweaters...nothing could be more simple...but a silk dress with beadwork, or embroidered designs, or any flounces that would make it more complicated SHOULD have a higher price. Now, if I brought in my much smaller business suit (straight skirt and coat) and my husband brings in his larger business suit (pants and coat) and they are the same level of simplicity of cut and fabric, then I should be charged less...and at my dry cleaner...I am. This is something that should be brought up to the dry cleaner...not legislated in government. GO TO ANOTHER DRY CLEANER IF YOURS IS BILKING YOU!!!! THAT DRY CLEANER WILL TAKE THE HINT!!!

2) Hair Salons: Most men have a basic hair cut, they get it over and over again. It takes less than 20 minutes to cut their hair, even if they get it washed and "styled" afterwards, which often is just running a bit of mousse or gel through it and calling it done. Women often bring in magazine clippings of movie stars and say "Make me look like that." Leaving the hairstylist (note the language difference, barber...one who cuts hair...hair stylist...one who chooses and creates a unique new style for your hair) to find someway to make a movie star who had five people working on it's hair style into a livable everyday style that the woman can live with even if the style would look completely wrong on her. Then they have to wash it, condition it, brush it out...and guess what...most women have a lot more hair than men...so it takes longer...then they cut and style...which takes longer than cutting and styling men's hair. Then they have to assure that women like it...help them change it if they don't...etc. Hair Salons offer more services (i.e. coloring, waxing, perming, highlighting) and therefore have higher costs. Go into your local barber shop someday and say you want your hair highlighted with strawberry blonde undertones...see what happens.

Women, if you want to pay less for your hair...ask for it not to be washed or styled...and get a simple straight across cut...you'll pay exactly what a man pays at any reputable salon....if you want to pay even less....go to a barber...they'll tell you the same thing...just don't expect a fancy, bells and whistles and all the local gossip and girl-talk, kind of experience...the guy's gonna cut your hair...quick, simple, and cheap.

Still not something we need to get the government involved in.

3) Shoes: My husband is in the military...but recently we bought him two suits and two pairs of dress shoes to go with them. Men who wear suits frequently know that a decent pair of nice dress shoes usually start at about $60-$80 bucks...often they can be over $100. Why? Because they'll last forever. They'll last until his feet change and he needs new ones.

Women's shoes, on the other hand...are not designed to last...they are flimsy and decorative...the high heel is asking to be broken or worn, the fabric is delicate the material flimsy...there isn't enough of it to keep it together and it is often open and easy to get dirty but hard to fix...men's shoes can be repaired or cleaned easily. Women also love designer names....men like good looking sturdy shoes. If Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blanik or even Nine West (you don't know what I'm talking about do you guys ) made shoes that made men go nuts....they would be paying 400 bucks for shoes just like women do...but men don't...men pay for quality shoes that last...and I doubt many of them could tell you what "brandname" there shoes are...unless they know it because the company makes shoes that are comfortable and last forever.

Again...women...if you want to pay less for your shoes...go to payless...OR demand a quality product that lasts...but women go through new pairs of shoes all the time...men don't....again...not a government problem.

Just another sign that some Canadians have lost their minds.

 

[musicman]

I wish common sense were more common.

 

[dmp]

I wonder if this policy would fix the 'women pay LESS for car insurance' problem...



Nothing has to be Fair in life...for the life of me, I can't figure out why 'fairness' trumps everything. Doing what is 'fair' isn't always the 'right' thing to do.

 

[Yurt]

Well said Gem.

Save for the Canadians losing their mind. Trust me, not all canadians are like the mouthpieces in government, especially on the west coast.

I especially agree with the insurance bit. And the hair cuts. My wife: I would like a layered, multifacited, stunning, expecptional, professional, yet not to stiff looking haircut. Me: Uh, sure, shorter would be great.

 

[Gem]

I swear, liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent.

Do you think that the hair salon is going to LOWER prices for women when this sort of legislation goes into effect??? Nope...its just going to RAISE prices for men to equal what women pay.

Do you think that an insurance agency would LOWER mens' insurance costs to equal womens'?? No, they will simply RAISE womens'.

The only thing that legislation like this (created with the supposed intent of lowering someones costs by controlling capitalism) will create is HIGHER prices for EVERYONE.

Bravo, Ontario.

 

[Said1]

Lorenzo Berardinetti is a nobody, the mayor has more political clout, he's a regional mp in a huge city.