France's finance ministry has ordered an inquiry why female shoppers are paying more than male consumers for
apparently identical products.
Shampoos,deodorants,razors and other goods marketed as " feminine " are subject to what a French women's rights
group says is an " invisible tax " making them pricier.
After launching a petition that has attracted 30,000 signatures, government officials have promised to investigate the
discrepancies.
The campaign has the support of Pascale Boistard, the secretary of state for women's rights , who tweeted : " Is pink
a luxury colour ?"
One photograph used in the campaign and taken in Monoprix supermarket shows a pink packet of five disposable
razors priced € 1.80 (€1.41) ,while a blue packet of 10 disposable razors aimed at men costs €1.72.
At another store belonging to the chain Casino,campaigners found a 200ml tube of shaving gel cost €2.87 for women
and €2.39 for men.
The Georgette Sand collective has called on Monoprix - whose name means single price - and other shops to stop
sexist pricing policies,accusing it of imposing a "woman tax ".
" At Monoprix thers's no single price! In fact , for similar products,women are paying more than men," the campaigners wrote ."
The company takes advantage of the fact that women's and men's hygiene products are in different sections in order to apply
different prices on products that are mostly similar ,if not identical."
The group found other products,including backpacks,pens and even food , where pricing appeared discriminatory,along with
services, including gym membership,dry cleaning and hairdressing charges.It has collected examples on a Tumblr page ,
saying :" And let's not forget that women earn around 27% less than men and have pensions that are 42% lower than men's"
Monoprix denied any policy of price discrimination ,saying the cost differences were linked to elements "intrinsic"
to the items and production costs . It argued that because more men's razors were bought than those for women they could be
sold at a lower price .
France's economy ministry announced it would carry out an evaluation of price differences raised by the anti-discrimination campaigners.
" We know that there have been investigations in the United States and we knew that we would find differences,
but not as we did and not as easily ," Geraldine Franck of the Georgette Sand collective told Le Parisien.
