Do women have a higher cost of living?

A new survey by WINOL finds that female students and those who identify as women tend to spend a lot more compared to men.

The Pink Tax is not a new concept, and neither are the extra costs associated with period care and appearance upkeep.

But what exactly do those costs look like?

Forty seven students across England, Scotland and Wales were asked about their spending habits.
On average, those that identified as women spend £31 per month on beauty products and services – such as makeup, hair care, and razors – while men spend just £18.
Just under two-fifths of these women reported spending over £40 per month.

Additionally, there was an obvious gap when it came to period products including pads, tampons, and painkillers.
Although not every female student spends money on period products – be it due to contraception use, one-time reusable products, or medical conditions – just over 20% of them said they spend over £20 per month in this section.
Despite the “tampon tax”, which classified menstrual products as luxury goods, being abolished in 2021, menstrual products are still not free.
While this could be seen as a small expenditure, especially compared to rent or grocery shopping for students, it can “add up quickly” according to many students.
Winchester students in particular appeared to be high spenders – almost a third of female students claimed to spend over £20 on period products.

When asking students about their feelings on the matter, some replied that they often look through men’s products to save money.
They also brought up the pressure on women to present themselves a certain way compared to men: “If I went out without makeup, people would go ‘are you ill?’”

Another said,:“I think a man can show up in jogging bottoms, a T-shirt and greasy hair and nobody would think any different. But if a woman were to do that, I think she’d definitely get a lot more looks.”

If a student is struggling with finances, aside from looking at men’s products, there are a variety of schemes in place to help.

For example, the Winchester Student Union has a Freebie Bin which offers “free period products to students who need it”.
Since 2021, Scotland has also rolled out legislation ensuring that anyone who needs it has access to free menstrual products – the first country in the world to do so.