The Cost of Being a Woman
For much of American history, sexism was built directly into the law. Women were historically excluded from voting, holding property, having limited career choices, and often treated as legally dependent on their male counterparts. Over time, major reforms helped to dismantle such barriers. Laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate based on sex in the workplace, and later policies expanded access to education and economic opportunity. Because of these changes, it can seem like gender equality has already been achieved, or that any remaining inequality is the result of individual choices rather than the legal system. This view dismisses how much the structure of the law shapes everyday life. Today, sexism may be less obvious, but it has not disappeared. Instead of directly excluding women, many laws and policies arrange society in ways that place more financial, physical, and social burden on them. These effects reveal themselves in areas like the cost of basic goods, expectations around caregiving, access to healthcare, and long-term economic stability. Even though explicit legal discrimination against women has been largely eliminated, sexism continues to persist even when the law appears neutral.
One of the clearest ways sexism shows up is through consumer markets, where women often face higher costs for everyday goods and services. The idea of the “pink tax” refers to the pattern where products marketed towards women, including personal care items, hygiene products, or clothing, are priced higher than nearly identical versions that are marketed towards men. Companies are able to charge more for products marked as feminine without facing consequences because the pricing law focuses more on competition and consumer choice than on fairness between different consumer groups. Beyond the pink tax, women are also expected to spend more on appearance and grooming due to social and professional norms, which are reinforced by workplace expectations. Certain careers require women to retain appearances that may be costly to sustain, from clothing to cosmetics. Careers with both explicit and implicit requirements for women to wear makeup, for example, include jobs in hospitality, reception, broadcasting, and flight attending. Because there is little legal recognition of these added costs, women effectively pay more just to participate in everyday economic life.
Sexism is also embedded in the structure of workplace law. The modern workplace is largely built around the assumption that a worker can fully commit to their career without interruption. This idea does not reflect the reality of many people’s lives. Women, in particular, are more likely to take on caregiving roles, whether for children, the elderly, or others. Laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 attempt to address this by allowing workers to take time off for family or medical reasons. However, because this leave is unpaid, many people cannot afford to, especially in lower-income families. This creates a situation where women are more likely to step away from the workforce or reduce their hours, which can have long-term effects on their earnings and career advancement. In addition, workplace norms often penalize employees who take time off or cannot work long hours. Over time, such patterns contribute to job instability and limited leadership opportunities. Women can be disproportionately affected by this.
Healthcare law provides another example of how legal structures can produce sexist outcomes, especially when it comes to reproductive health and access to care. Women often face higher healthcare costs overall, partly because of the need for reproductive services such as contraception, prenatal care, and childbirth. While some policies have attempted to expand access to these services, legal protections have been inconsistent and subject to change. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which allowed states to impose significant restrictions on abortion, illustrates how legal decisions can directly affect women’s ability to make choices about their own bodies. In states with strict abortion laws, women may be forced to travel long distances or take time off work, which can cause serious economic and personal consequences. Beyond reproductive rights, there are broader issues in how healthcare systems are designed. Historically, women have been underrepresented in clinical trials, which can lead to gaps in medical knowledge and effective treatments. For example, popular studies have indicated that humans ideally require 8 hours of sleep. These studies, however, were revealed to have only been conducted on women. Cleveland Health Clinics found that women need “more sleep than men because of their changing hormones”. This is significant because it shows how the needs of women are not entirely acknowledged. These issues show that healthcare law is not just about access to services, but also about who bears the cost and responsibility for maintaining health. In many cases, women end up facing greater obstacles and higher stakes, reflecting deeper inequalities in how the system is structured.
Overall, sexism today is less about clear, intentional discrimination and more about how different areas interact to enforce barriers to the success of women. From consumer markets to workplaces, legal frameworks often distribute costs and responsibilities in ways that disproportionately affect women. These outcomes are not always the result of a single policy, but rather the combined effect of multiple systems. Addressing this issue requires more than simply banning discrimination. It requires a deeper examination of how laws can come together to create varying opportunities and risks for women, and a willingness to rethink how systems can promote genuine equality.
Bibliography
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