Apply this law to contractors, auto-mechanics and car sales people and then we'll have something!
Mar. 15, 2005. 01:00 AM
MPP seeks to outlaw gender-based pricing
Lists dry cleaning, hairstyling as examples
ROBERT BENZIE
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
Why do women pay more than men for dry cleaning, hairstyling and clothing, among other things?
Liberal MPP Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest) said yesterday there is no valid reason for such discrimination, which is why he is pushing legislation outlawing "gender-based pricing."
Berardinetti has introduced a private member's bill making it illegal for women to be charged more for similar products and services than men. It will be debated April 14.
The bill, if passed, will prevent businesses such as dry cleaners, hairdressers, retailers and others from charging different prices based one whether the person is a man or a woman, he said.
Under the proposed legislation, fines of up to $5,000 would be imposed on anyone breaking the Ontario Human Rights Code by having gender-based prices for products and services.
"It's a form of discrimination and it's a form that should have been removed a long time ago," said Berardinetti. "It's odd to think that in 2005, discrimination of this type still exists in Ontario and in Canada, where more than half the population ... is discriminated against in several different areas."
The newly married MPP said he did not realize the extent of the differing prices for men and women until he went shopping for clothes with his wife Michelle Berardinetti.
He noticed that clothes made for men were invariably cheaper than those for women even though they were the same brand. For example, a Giorgio Armani suit for men cost $1,200 while the women's version was $2,000.
"It's the same company ... and hers was probably less material with the jacket and pants. There's no way it cost more to manufacture," said Berardinetti, noting alterations usually cost less for men than women.
A similar consumer protection law has been on the books since Jan. 1, 1996 in California, where companies are barred from charging different prices for services based on customers' gender. The law is aimed at dry cleaning, hair styling and tailoring. But a 1998 study by the California Public Interest Research Groupfound the legislation is routinely violated due to a lack of public awareness.
Berardinetti said he was inspired by the work of Toronto market-research guru Joanne Thomas Yaccato, author of The 80% Minority: Reaching the Real World of Women Consumers.
Thomas Yaccato estimates that Canadian women are overcharged $750 million a year on their hairstyling alone.
"The excuses go from women take longer and they require more product in their hair. My point is charge according to the time it takes," the marketing consultant said.
"It's the same in the word of dry cleaning," she said, recalling a Vancouver hidden-camera experiment where a man and a woman showed the same shirt to a drycleaner and were quoted different prices.
"The man goes in first and asked how much it costs to have his shirt cleaned and he's told $5. He comes out into the parking lot, passes the shirt over to the woman, who walks in five minutes later and is told it's $7.50."
Mar. 15, 2005. 01:00 AM
MPP seeks to outlaw gender-based pricing
Lists dry cleaning, hairstyling as examples
ROBERT BENZIE
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
Why do women pay more than men for dry cleaning, hairstyling and clothing, among other things?
Liberal MPP Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest) said yesterday there is no valid reason for such discrimination, which is why he is pushing legislation outlawing "gender-based pricing."
Berardinetti has introduced a private member's bill making it illegal for women to be charged more for similar products and services than men. It will be debated April 14.
The bill, if passed, will prevent businesses such as dry cleaners, hairdressers, retailers and others from charging different prices based one whether the person is a man or a woman, he said.
Under the proposed legislation, fines of up to $5,000 would be imposed on anyone breaking the Ontario Human Rights Code by having gender-based prices for products and services.
"It's a form of discrimination and it's a form that should have been removed a long time ago," said Berardinetti. "It's odd to think that in 2005, discrimination of this type still exists in Ontario and in Canada, where more than half the population ... is discriminated against in several different areas."
The newly married MPP said he did not realize the extent of the differing prices for men and women until he went shopping for clothes with his wife Michelle Berardinetti.
He noticed that clothes made for men were invariably cheaper than those for women even though they were the same brand. For example, a Giorgio Armani suit for men cost $1,200 while the women's version was $2,000.
"It's the same company ... and hers was probably less material with the jacket and pants. There's no way it cost more to manufacture," said Berardinetti, noting alterations usually cost less for men than women.
A similar consumer protection law has been on the books since Jan. 1, 1996 in California, where companies are barred from charging different prices for services based on customers' gender. The law is aimed at dry cleaning, hair styling and tailoring. But a 1998 study by the California Public Interest Research Groupfound the legislation is routinely violated due to a lack of public awareness.
Berardinetti said he was inspired by the work of Toronto market-research guru Joanne Thomas Yaccato, author of The 80% Minority: Reaching the Real World of Women Consumers.
Thomas Yaccato estimates that Canadian women are overcharged $750 million a year on their hairstyling alone.
"The excuses go from women take longer and they require more product in their hair. My point is charge according to the time it takes," the marketing consultant said.
"It's the same in the word of dry cleaning," she said, recalling a Vancouver hidden-camera experiment where a man and a woman showed the same shirt to a drycleaner and were quoted different prices.
"The man goes in first and asked how much it costs to have his shirt cleaned and he's told $5. He comes out into the parking lot, passes the shirt over to the woman, who walks in five minutes later and is told it's $7.50."
3 comments:
is it that hairdressers charge more for cutting women's hair, or do they impose a listening surcharge?
Paul took my point. I was gonna post the same thing but he stole my thunder.
fucker.
oh yeah. I went to the roots outlet on orifice road today. tonnes of great stuff real cheap. you should go.
Everyone knows that anyone who cuts womens' hair is either a woman or gay anyway, they want to gossip just like the rest of us.
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