A Montreal woman plans to take eight major retailers to court in a proposed class action lawsuit for allegedly charging women more for hygiene products than men, despite the fact that some products have identical ingredients.
The so-called 鈥減ink tax鈥� 鈥�- a consumer phenomenon in which women pay more than men for the same products -- has been widely reported on. Analysis from data mining company Parsehub found that women pay on average 43 per cent more than men for 3,000 products surveyed.
Aviva Maxwell, a mother of three, said she first noticed the 鈥減ink tax鈥� while shopping for deodorant with her brother. She said she found that a brand of men鈥檚 deodorant was larger than the equivalent women鈥檚 product, but both products were sold for the same price.
鈥淚'm paying almost twice as much as he is,鈥� Maxwell told CTV News.
Maxwell learned more about the alleged discrepancies and was so upset that she sought legal representation. On Tuesday, lawyers filed a motion with the Quebec Superior Court to launch a class action against eight Quebec corporations.
鈥淲hat we're alleging is there is discrimination between pricing for products destined for women and products destined for men,鈥� said Michael Simkin, a lawyer representing Maxwell.
The lawsuit is asking for $100 in damages and compensation per claim. In a statement, the law firm alleged that the potential damages could be worth more than $100 million.
The court has yet to make the motion an official class action case, and no other parties are involved yet. It could take many months before the court determines how the action will unfold.
None of the companies named in the action nor the Retail Council of Canada commented on the case to CTV News.
Business experts say that, even though there is a perception of gender bias, consumers shouldn鈥檛 expect the eight retailers to give in.
鈥淭he exact same thing for women is very often more expensive because women for a lot of those products are not buying as much as men are 鈥� this is the case for deodorant, this is certainly the case for razors,鈥� said Jacques Nantel, a marketing professor with HEC Montreal.
鈥淏ecause you don't have the same volume of sale, the cost per product has to be pushed up.鈥�
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Vanessa Lee in Montreal
