Men and women's haircuts must cost the SAME PRICE

[Hum]

Denmark, which like its Nordic neighbours prides itself on promoting equal treatment for men and women, has taken gender equality all the way to the beauty salon.

A ruling last month by Denmark's Board of Equal Treatment effectively stated that price differences between men's and women's haircuts were illegal.

It ordered a salon advertising women's haircuts for 528 crowns - ?59 - and men's haircuts for 428 crowns - ?48 - plus an extra fee for long hair, to pay 2,500 crowns - ?281- to a woman who had filed a complaint.

Now, a trade organisation for hairdressers has called the decision absurd, saying it will become a nightmare to set prices for customers and warning of 'pricing chaos'.

'It takes, quite simply, longer time with women,' said Connie Mikkelsen, chairwoman of the Danish organisation for independent hairdressers and cosmeticians.

The board's decision has been appealed and a court will determine whether hairdressers need to find a new way to charge for their services, in the length of time, or the standard of the cut.

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[fusi0n]

I think I am starting to understand all the Denmark South Park joke.. lol

[spacer]

I don't understand this at all. Women haircuts take longer, and require more styling/products/what-have-you. It only makes sense that they cost more. /boggle

They could change the price to an average between the two, but I'd be willing to bet most salons have way more female customers than they do male. So they would lose a lot of money if they tried that approach.

[neufuse Veteran]

well it makes sense.... women usually have more hair... which means more work...... which means more time...... which means it COST MORE

but then if its a free business, why can't they set their own rates? if people don't like the rates they will go elsewhere RIGHT?!......

[Laurë Veteran]

'It takes, quite simply, longer time with women,' said Connie Mikkelsen, chairwoman of the Danish organisation for independent hairdressers and cosmeticians.

Well, they could charge by time.

well it makes sense.... women usually have more hair... which means more work...... which means more time...... which means it COST MORE

I might have more hair but I don't necessarily want more of it cut off. If I have a basic dry cut I don't see how it's much more complicated or time consuming than the same for a man. If I'm having it washed/conditioned/combed/straightened and then some more fancy cut then obviously that should cost more.

[Tangmeister]

Doesn't this finally open the door for the exact same debate over insurance prices?

"It takes longer to process the car accident claims for the male population in total".

Sickening hypocrisy.

[Stetson]

I don't understand this at all. Women haircuts take longer, and require more styling/products/what-have-you. It only makes sense that they cost more. /boggle

well it makes sense.... women usually have more hair... which means more work...... which means more time...... which means it COST MORE

Then charge for those things, not because the customer is a female.

This isn't saying that you must charge one price for all haircuts, just that setting the price based on the gender of the customer isn't allowed.

So a guy with short hair who takes 10 minutes to get his hair cut should be charged the same as a woman with short hair who takes 10 minutes.

A man with long hair who uses lots of styling products and takes a half hour should be charged the same as a woman with long hair who uses lots of styling products and takes a half hour.

I don't really see what the fuss is about here.

[linsook]

Will this even survive in the courts? I personally doubt it.

[Crisp]

I might have more hair but I don't necessarily want more of it cut off. If I have a basic dry cut I don't see how it's much more complicated or time consuming than the same for a man. If I'm having it washed/conditioned/combed/straightened and then some more fancy cut then obviously that should cost more.

Well you get cheaper car insurance, so swings and roundabouts :p

[Osiris]

Yeah if I was going to start poking around with the equality stick insurance would be first at it!!

Eitherway a bit ridiculous, some pretty obvious reasons as to why their haircuts would typically cost more. Suppose hair salons there will just move to a charge by the hour / block of time so the rate would be the same regardless of gender.

The funny thing is womens hair cuts will still end up costing the same because typically they are a time consuming process but invariably mens hair cuts will probably on average increase due to this.

[Richteralan]

Sounds like I have to have long hair to makeup for the price hike!

[Nothing Here]

If that's the case, women should expect the same type of cut men get.

[Hum]

Glad I cut my own hair -- saving $$$$$$$$$$ :D

[jakem1]

Well you get cheaper car insurance, so swings and roundabouts :p

No she doesn't.

Yeah if I was going to start poking around with the equality stick insurance would be first at it!!

Men and women pay the same for car insurance in the EU already.

If that's the case, women should expect the same type of cut men get.

What type of cut is that?

[shakey]

The price should be set to a minimum, and go up depending on time and difficulty. But there is no reason I would want to pay anymore than $13 for a haircut, when it only takes like 10 minutes to cut my hair, and there is nothing more than using a shaver and a few clips of the scissors.

But I always understood why women where charged more, as they usually have more to deal with, more difficult styles to do, and the attention that is normally given to them while it is done. The fact is, normally cutting a mans hair is a lot simpler than most womens hair cuts.

[FloatingFatMan]

Men and women pay the same for car insurance in the EU already.

HAHAHAHAHA!

No they bleedin' well don't. Not in the UK anyway, and last time I checked, we were still in the EU.

All this will end up in is mens haircuts costing the same as womens. Equality, and overcharging. Yay.

Bloody nitwits.

[Hum]

I wonder if prostitution prices are the same. :laugh:

[jakem1]

HAHAHAHAHA!

No they bleedin' well don't. Not in the UK anyway, and last time I checked, we were still in the EU.

All this will end up in is mens haircuts costing the same as womens. Equality, and overcharging. Yay.

Bloody nitwits.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12606610

The new rules came into effect late last year.

[Chris123NT]

Easy solution, RAISE the price for everyone, then watch all the men go nuts and watch the courts step back.

Bottom line, time is money. I know in my business I bill based on time, not some imaginary unit of measure. Things aren't always equal, and this has NOTHING to do with gender equality. If this was an issue about women and men getting paid equally for a specific job that's obviously supposed to be equal, but paying the same for something that requires more work for one or the other? No.

Or get rid of the problem completely, don't cut hair based on a set price, bill it by the time it takes, then noone can bitch.

[theyarecomingforyou]

HAHAHAHAHA!

No they bleedin' well don't. Not in the UK anyway, and last time I checked, we were still in the EU.

All this will end up in is mens haircuts costing the same as womens. Equality, and overcharging. Yay.

Bloody nitwits.

As mentioned, it already applies to the UK - there was quite a fuss about it at the time.

[The Evil Overlord]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12606610

The new rules came into effect late last year.

Sorry, I grew up with my neighbour's daughter, I'm 8 months older than her, and we both passed our driving tests with a couple of months between us(from first lesson). I passed first attempt as did she, about 3 weeks later. I'm 37 and she's 36 at this moment.

So if those rules in that link are in effect, why is she ?190 cheaper, fully comp than me on my Omega? (Edit. We both have clean licenses)

Anyway, back on topic...

Women generally have a lot more done to their hair, so it can take a stylist longer. I don't know if they charge by the hour or add the cost of the amount of any product used or whatnot. But like most, I'd be furious iif something that costs me ?8 and about 10 to 15 to get done, suddenly cost ?40 upwards for the same job.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Dushmany

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

When I went to a barber it costs $4.00 for a hair cut. Now my wife does it.

[jakem1]

Sorry, I grew up with my neighbour's daughter, I'm 8 months older than her, and we both passed our driving tests with a couple of months between us(from first lesson). I passed first attempt as did she, about 3 weeks later. I'm 37 and she's 36 at this moment.

So if those rules in that link are in effect, why is she ?190 cheaper, fully comp than me on my Omega? (Edit. We both have clean licenses)

Probably because the rules are new. I suspect that she'll find that the price of her insurance (and possibly yours too) goes up when she next renews.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Sorry, I grew up with my neighbour's daughter, I'm 8 months older than her, and we both passed our driving tests with a couple of months between us. I passed first attempt as did she, about 3 weeks later. I'm 37 and she's 36 at this moment.

So if those rules in that link are in effect, why is she ?190 cheaper, fully comp than me on my Omega?

There are numerous other factors, like profession and medical background. Unless the ruling is very specific insurers could unofficially link profession to gender (i.e. teachers tend to be female; salespeople tend to be male). And as far as I'm aware the price will only change when it comes to renewal, so that's potentially a factor.

[HawkMan]

I don't understand this at all. Women haircuts take longer, and require more styling/products/what-have-you. It only makes sense that they cost more. /boggle

They could change the price to an average between the two, but I'd be willing to bet most salons have way more female customers than they do male. So they would lose a lot of money if they tried that approach.

No, we already have this law in Norway.

It's basically like this, if hair being equal and the job being equal, the price should be equal, that wasn't the case.

Guys today, with all the metrosexual crap gets haircuts as advanced as women, and women get haircuts hats even simpler than guys, like long haired women that just want the ends cut.

The end result is simple, one price for haircuts, another for styling, and potentially extras for long hair when it's being styled, and hourly for long complicated stuff like wedding cuts.

Simple and fair.