Pink Tax

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Passengers use a card to enter the newly-opened WTC Cortlandt subway station in New York on Saturday evening, Sept. 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

This post is based on an article released by Mikaprok

A survey made in New York City discovered something that has never been a secret – that the NYC subway is a disgusting place. There are numerous factors for it to be considered as such, however the main one, according to the researchers is that there is a very large possibility that if you identify yourself as a woman, there will be a suspicious and not very pleasant stranger who will masturbate while standing in front of you.

Supporters of this theory say tht there are numerous reports of such occurrences, if you’re in disbelief.

(Yes, all of the previous links are to different articles to prove the point.)

Thus, researchers claim that there is a “pink tax” on transportation for women, similarly to the “pink tax” attached to products that are deemed “for women.”

Matt Moore / Vox

It appears that there are pads for males and they’re much cheaper than the female ones.

Researchers at the NYU Rudin Center for transportation did not set out with the specific intention of examining the public transit pink tax in their new survey.

In total 547 people were surveyed, 52% of them were female, while 48% were male. 93% had a college degree, 89% travelled regularly on public transport.

Out of those, 76% were White or Caucasian, 3% Black or African-American, 7% Hispanic or Latina, 8% Asian or Asian-American, 6% were other.

However, they discovered that:

• 75% of female respondents indicated that they’ve experienced harassment or theft on public transport, compared to 43% of male respondents;
• 88% of those that experienced harassment for some reason did not report it to authorities;
• The most frequent answer to “How often?” was “Not sure – it’s taken place over the course of my life” and “Countless”;
• Caretakers paid significantly more to pay monthly, depending on the number of their trips. Between 1-5 trips, 67% of them paid more than $75 extra, for 6-15 trips and more than 16 that percentage rises to 76% and 81% respectively.
• 29% of females do not use public transport past 10 PM, compared to 8% of males;
• 42% of women use Lyft or Uber, because they’re concerned for their wellbeing.
• 75% of single mothers prefer not to use the subway, if they can get by with other means.

Most of the metro stations also have no wheelchair lifts in the required amount and using only those present requires more time and thus money.

However, the study has one glaring problem: it is impossible for it to be considered a representative one. Almost all of the respondents have a college degree, thus a massive portion of the public is not represented. It goes without mention that a study in which more than 75% of respondents were White means it can only represent that group’s problems.

According to other surveys, passengers who have a college degree and are white account for only 35% of the public transport users in the NYC.

Most worrisome, however, is the fact that the survey shows that close to 58% of women can’t afford Uber or Lyft.

Skewered and non-representative target group notwithstanding, what is the solution to these problems?

Simple! Make public transport safer. That is the obvious solution, however it would take a long time.

Som there could be some “suggestions” on dealing with this conundrum:

Firstly, to develop specialized gender systems of movement around the city. Who knows how long that would take, however.

Secondly, maybe train the personnel in the subway and other forms of public transport to identify harassment from a distance and instantly prevent it by applying their “power of thought.” That could work, however, it is unlikely that telekinetic powers would be developed so quickly, thus male force will have to be used. Regrettably it can’t be used, because it would also be threatening.

The third, ption is to place more women in management positions in transport. According to numbers quoted by Mikaprok, only 39% of employees in the transport industry are female, they should be more than the males. It is also a shame that only 3 of the top 20 US transport companies have female executives.

Regardless of any official rhetoric, the subject of the “pink tax” and inequality floods the gender studies in their entirety.

There is another option to deal with the pink tax. Introduce a tax of $100 that every man that lives in NYC has to pay, to make up for the amount women have to spend extra.

You can also introduce a tax on women who travel too little, or somehow reimburse women who travel too much with a taxi.

Similar to the more expensive “for women,” there can be the inclusion of legal “for men,” “for children,” and “for queer” products and services all with varying prices to somehow equalize the injustice.

On a more serious note, clearly the public transport system, not only in NYC, needs work and improvement for all passengers, not just women. However, a skewered survey that represents one of the smaller groups in the system will not reach any conclusion that will lead to any significant outcomes. Lawmakers might as well follow Mikaprok’s suggestions, introduce a tax on everything and with the extra money open telekinesis schools to assist in preventing harassment with the power of thought. Or maybe even with somewhat strong rhetoric, the power of positive thought and wishful thinking.

Until then, to avoid the pink tax in areas outside of transport, a good idea might be buying “for male” products that are essentially the same, albeit different colored, or just openly boycott and complain.

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