Read the following passage and answer the questions.
Gender-based pricing, also known as “pink tax,” is an upcharge on products traditionally intended for women which have only cosmetic differences from comparable products traditionally intended for men. In other words, it's not actually a tax. It’s an “income-generating scenario for private companies who found a way to make their product look either more directed to or more appropriate for the population and saw that as a moneymaker,” explains Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, a lawyer, vice president for the Brennan School of Justice at NYU School of Law, and co-founder of Period Equity.
Yet pink tax is not a new phenomenon. The issue was delineated more finely in 2015 when the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs released a report about price disparities for 794 comparable products from 91 brands sold throughout the city. The report examined five different industries, such as personal care products or senior/home healthcare products. These encompassed 35 product categories, such as bodywash or shampoo. In every single of those five industries, consumer goods marketed to women and girls cost more. The same was the case in all but five of the 35 product categories. Researchers looked at 106 products in the toys and accessories category and found that, on average, those intended for girls were priced 7 percent higher.
NYC’s report found women faced an average price difference of 13 percent for personal care products among the 122 products compared in the study. And the authors aptly noted that these items, such as shaving gel and deodorant, are the ones purchased most frequently compared with other categories — meaning that the ____________ add up over time. While this is unfair for all those shopping for these products, that 13 percent price increase hits women and girls who come from lower income households even harder. Legislative attempts, however, could correct the pink tax. In 1995, then-Assemblywoman Jackie Speier successfully passed a bill that forbade gender pricing of services, such as haircuts.
Which of the following word aptly fills the blank given in the passage?
Correct Answer :
costs
Solution :
The correct option is costs.
Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyze the context around the blank: The sentence containing the blank is: "And the authors aptly noted that these items, such as shaving gel and deodorant, are the ones purchased most frequently compared with other categories — meaning that the ____________ add up over time." The passage focuses on how products marketed to women are priced higher (an average price difference of 13% for personal care products).
2. Determine the perspective: The passage highlights the impact on consumers, stating in the very next sentence that this price increase "hits women and girls who come from lower income households even harder." Therefore, the blank must refer to the accumulating financial burden or expense borne by the consumer.
3. Evaluate the given options:
- costs: This refers to the expenses or amount of money that has to be spent to buy something. Since these personal care items are purchased frequently, the higher prices lead to higher expenses that accumulate or "add up" over time. This fits the context perfectly.
- profits: This refers to the financial gain made by businesses. While companies gain profit, the focus of the sentence is on the consumer's recurring spending and financial strain.
- equity: This refers to fairness or value, which does not logically "add up over time" to create a financial hardship in this context.
- categories: This refers to groups or classifications, which does not make sense in the context of accumulating financial impact.
Consequently, the word that aptly fills the blank is costs.
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