From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Gender-Related Price Differences Description: Ever wonder if some items, like shaving materials or deodorants, cost different for men and women? Well, GAO investigated. Listen to what we found. Related GAO Work: GAO-18-500, Consumer Protection: Gender-Related Price Differences for Goods and Services Released: August 2018 [ Background Music ] [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] We did find statistically-significant price differences related to gender for most of the ten product categories that we analyzed. [ Matt Oldham: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm Matt Oldham. Whether or not you've heard of the term "pink tax," you may be aware that women and men could be seeing different prices for similar goods and services. I'm with Alicia Puente Cackley. She's a director on the Financial Markets and Community Investment team. And we're talking about a GAO report which reviewed gender-related price differences. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Alicia. [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] You're welcome. [ Matt Oldham: ] So did your report find many products showing these price differences? [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] So our report focused on an analysis of retail prices for a set of personal care products, so things like deodorants, shaving products, fragrances, razors, razor blades. And we did find statistically significant price differences related to gender for most of the 10 product categories that we analyzed. We found about half of the categories, women's products, were sold at higher prices, on average, than men's products. For a couple of products, shaving gels and non-disposable razors, we found men's products were more expensive, on average. And then for a couple of products, we didn't see a significant difference. [ Matt Oldham: ] So did you find any reasons for the price differences? [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] Well, we had controlled for as much as we could in terms of what might affect the price of the products that we looked at. We accounted for as many factors as possible, like size of the products and the scent and the color. But there were things that we couldn't account for. There were things like advertising costs of each product and also things like different demands by men and women for specific products or people's willingness to pay for a product. So if we couldn't account for everything, we can't say for sure how much of the price difference that we found is due to potential gender bias and how much is due to those other factors that we couldn't control for. [ Matt Oldham: ] So, so far we've been talking about the products that show some price differences due to gender, but your report also explored services like mortgages or small business credit. Could you talk a little bit about what you found there? [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] So we looked at a number of studies that compared things like interest rates and prices that men and women pay for products or services that are not targeted by gender. So they had some important limitations in terms of, the studies were often older than we would like to have and be able to draw conclusions from. So studies on mortgage interest rates were based on loans that were more than 10 years old, which makes it a little hard to draw strong conclusions. But we did find amongst those studies that there was mixed evidence of disparities in borrowing costs between men and women. And in terms of small businesses, we also found while the data were not as recent as we would have liked, those studies saw mixed evidence of gender disparities in access to credit, so whether or not they actually got a loan. Not so much the interest rate but the access to the credit in the first place. [ Matt Oldham: ] So what can consumers do to avoid some of these price variations we've been talking about? [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] Well, it's important for consumers to just first recognize that there can be differences in price and that they're often related to the targeted way that certain products are created and marketed. And so once you're aware of that, you can comparison shop. You can decide for yourself whether you want the product that is potentially higher in price but more to your liking or you can look at the product that is marketed more to another gender and say that's just as good and it's cheaper, that's for me. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] So it sounds like it's possible that consumers could be getting charged more for some products and services based on their gender. So Alicia, I've got a confession. I'm a man who uses shaving cream marketed toward women, and the reasons have nothing to do with cost. But are you saying that I could be paying more than if I used men's shaving cream? [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] Absolutely. It is definitely the case that we found, on average, women's shaving cream costs more compared to men's. Now that may not be true for the particular product that you use, but on average, that was one of the results of our analysis. [ Matt Oldham: ] Alicia, lastly, what do you believe is the bottom line of your report? [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] I think the bottom line is really that for folks to understand that firms, you know, they're allowed to tailor their products to different genders and price them accordingly. And so if you're one of the people who has a preference for a particular product, but you also want to know that you're paying the lowest price possible, do your comparison shopping and check out both versions and see which one works for you. [ Matt Oldham: ] Alicia Puente Cackley is a GAO director on the Financial Markets and Community Investment team, and she was talking about a report looking into gender-based price differences. Thank you for your time, Alicia. [ Alicia Puente Cackley ] You're welcome. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. [ Background Music ] [ Matt Oldham: ] For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at gao.gov.