They said charging more was sinful and should be illegal. Nowadays, it's hard to find an economist who would agree. But the medieval doctrine of the just price is alive and well in New York, where the City Council recently approved an ordinance prohibiting businesses from charging men and women different prices for haircuts and dry cleaning. On average, women paid 14 percent more for dry cleaning. Many salon owners and dry cleaners say there are sound business reasons for such disparities.
Women tend to have longer hair, and their styles take more time.
Women's clothing often has pleats, ruffles, lace, decorative buttons, or other doodads that require special care. Their shirts may be too small to fit old presses designed for men's clothing, so they have to be ironed by hand. Nonsense, say critics of gender-based pricing. Even if these differences matter, they do not justify a broad policy of charging women more than men. This all sounds quite sensible, and in fact the New York City ordinance, like a similar law that took effect in California a few years ago, allows hair salons and dry cleaners to charge different prices for different services.