Burger King is trying to make a point Thursday about how women are charged more for some products that are almost entirely identical to the ones for men, whether it’s deodorant, jeans or having a shirt dry cleaned.
It’s known as the “Pink Tax.”
To underscore the disparity, the fast-food hamburger chain is putting a video on YouTube which shows unsuspecting female guests being charged $3.09 — the “Chick Tax” — for an order of chicken-strip “fries,” compared to the normal price $1.69. The chicken fries were presented in a pink box.
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In conjunction with the video, Burger King will sell what it calls “Chick Fries” in pink boxes Thursday at select locations in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago while supplies last. Burger King stated that it “does not believe in charging a Pink Tax.” and that even with a pink box, the fries will go for the same price as a regular order.
The goal was “to demonstrate the effect of Pink Tax and how everyone should pay the same for the products — whether it’s pink or not,” said Christopher Finazzo, Burger King’s president for North America, in a statement.
Burger King’s action comes months after the introduction of the Pink Tax Repeal Act by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). The legislation would allow the Federal Trade Commission to enforce actions against violations. States attorneys general could take civil action on behalf of wronged consumers.
“Women get hit with a double whammy: They make less for doing the same work and they pay more for the same product or service because its for women,” Speier said in a statement, “Whether it’s a pink teddy bear, deodorant from the same manufacturer, or a white laundered shirt, it’s time to say enough! Discrimination is illegal.”
It’s Burger King’s first dip into social issues. It previously put together an ad that it said was aimed at encouraging debate on the issues of net neutrality.
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