ABSTRACT
The mandate for equal rights for men and women is embedded in India‘s Constitution. Gender equality is a constituent of development as well as an instrument of development. It is a constituent of development as no country can be deemed developed if half its population is severely disadvantaged in terms of basic needs, livelihood options, knowledge access, and political voice. It is an instrument of development because without gender equality other goals of development like poverty alleviation, economic growth, and environmental sustainability will not be achieved. Gender inequalities hinder development. Ignoring gender disparities comes at a great cost to people's well-being and to the country‘s ability to grow sustainably, to govern effectively. This research analyses the disparity in pricing of products and services which aim at delivering the same utility value to the consumers regardless of their gender. The paper aims to bring to light to whether consumers are aware of such gender-discriminatory pricing policies being adopted by companies and the underlying implications of such bias.
Keywords: Discrimination, Pricing, Pink tax, Consumption, Gender disparity, women in India.
JEL Classification Codes: L11, J16.
Received : 16tthJanuary 2019
Accepted : 30th January 2019
Published : 13th February 2019
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