Men baffled after realising women have to pay ‘pink tax’

A This Morning star has been commended for a speech she made on the programme, listing all the ways that women are still not equal to men.

British TV personality Ashley James, 38, appeared on a segment of the ITV show last Thursday (18 September) to debate gender equality with hosts Ben Shepherd, Cat Deeley, and Nick Ferrari. And the male presenters were completely baffled by the concept of 'pink tax'.

The topic of conversation was whether women should pay less tax than men, and Ashley's answer was a complicated one.

The former Made In Chelsea star explained that while she 'believes in equality' and 'in theory men and women should pay the same tax,' there are still a lot of things that need to change to make that fair.

She reeled off a long list of things women have to fork out more for, including the 'pink tax,' childcare, and period products, as well as referencing the UK's gender pay gap.

Ashley explained to Cat and Ben: "I don't think women should pay less tax than men because I believe in equality.

"So, to take your point about the two police officers who, one's a man, one's a woman, on the same salary, the difference would be that she is more likely to have to leave her job for childcare or caring responsibility because that largely falls on the woman.

"Therefore, her pension contribution will be much less because caring is still unpaid and not considered valuable, even though it props up society and allows people to go out and do their jobs.

She continued: "So I believe in equality, which also means that I think that we should be closing all the gaps."

Naming the gaps in question, she listed the gender pay gap that allegedly sees men earn 35 per cent more than women per year, as well as a pension gap that means women retire with less cash.

Ashley James has baffled her male co-stars by explaining the 'pink tax' (Instagram/ThisMorning)

Ashley explained: "Number one, because they earn less than men still on average, and number two, because they're more likely to take time out. Women, kind of on the point I made, still do the lion's share of unpaid labour and caring, whether that's caring for elderly people or children.

"And even when both partners work equally, the woman overwhelmingly, and this is based on studies, do the majority of the domestic and child raising.

"There's also pink tax, which means that products marketed to women cost more than they do for men - and you can see this and the studies about it."

The reality star went on to name the additional costs of period products, makeup, which women have to wear 'to be considered professional', and finally, taxi rides home at night to keep safe amid a 'male violence epidemic'.

But the one aspect that left Ben and Nick confused was the 'pink tax'.

Essentially, 'pink tax' refers to the phenomenon of charging women higher prices for products and services that are essentially the same as those marketed to men, but with different packaging or marketing, as Ashley explained: "This means that products marketed to women cost more than they do for men. And you can see this, and the studies about it.

"Whether it’s razors, deodorant, even more so if the packaging is pink. But men’s deodorant costs less than women’s deodorant."

Essentially, the 'pink tax' is where women's products are more expensive than men's (Getty Stock Image)

Shocked, Nick questioned: "'No. Does it?!"

Before Ben, equally taken aback, asked: "Can women use men’s deodorant? My wife uses mine, so why don’t they just buy men's?"

Ashley said: "Well lots of people do, but lots of people don't know about pink tax! Then on top of that, we have hygiene products like tampons, that men don't."

Ashley concluded: "So, I think that whilst yes, men and women in theory should pay the same tax, we should also be paid fairly and have equal domestic and caring labour."

The clip of her speech has quickly gone viral on social media, with people rushing to praise the ITV star.

One Instagram user penned: "Do not know who she is do not care but PRAISE HER and give her a stage. So well composed, clear and on point. Thank you queen."

While a second agreed: "It’s wild how she can give all of this information while remaining so perfectly *polite* and not for one second shoving it down their throats."

And a third explained: "I think she means she believes in EQUITY, not EQUALITY. She’s taking into consideration the specific needs of a woman vs a man, equality would mean everyone is treated exactly the same."