Women's salaries are lower, and their expenses are higher. Here's how to push back

Companies are always aiming to generate more volume and profit, and a lot of effort goes into figuring out what consumers will buy and how much they'll pay, said Mark Jenson, a former advertising and marketing professional and a senior lecturer at the U's Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

"Most of the products that have this type of difference tend to be consumer packaged goods products, and those are the organizations that are probably some of the best marketers in the world: the Proctor and Gambles, the Unilevers, all those people like that," he said. "They are very astute at what they do."

Some efforts at gendering consumer packaged goods have fallen flat (think: "mansize" Kleenex or "brogurt"). And there are some products, like laundry detergent, that stick to gender-neutral branding because consumers are unlikely to see the point of buying a "men's" or "women's" version, Jenson said.

But even in this time of inflation and shrinkflation, he said, consumers tend to have certain products they're willing to spend more on, whether that means opting for name-brand cookies or the pink moisturizer with added argan oil.

"We all make those choices," Jenson said.

Still, keep an eye out for the cheaper option. As with food, there's often little to no difference between generic and name-brand items.

Consider menstrual products, which can cost $9,000 through a woman's lifetime: While a box of 36 Target-brand tampons costs $5.99, a smaller box of Tampax costs $7.99. There's also the environmentally friendly option — using menstrual cups or reusable pads — which costs less over time.

Be neutral

Regardless of which items a consumer is choosing, there's a very high chance that consumer is a woman. Across all categories, women make 70% to 80% of purchasing decisions.

Those dollars are powerful, and consumers can deploy that power by making purchasing decisions with the pink tax in mind. Step one: Compare prices between men's and women's products and opt for the cheaper option.

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