a period is more than a punctuation mark.
A Girl Scout leader encouraged me to find “something that made me angry” and focus on that for my Gold Award project. Nothing gets me more frustrated than gender economic inequality. When I learned about the “pink tax” I knew I had a focus.
“The Period Project,” my Girl Scout Gold Award project (which is simultaneously my Westridge Community Action Project), finished during my sophomore year at Westridge, raised awareness about the “Pink Tax” in California and nationally. I focused on the actual tax charged on menstrual products in nearly a quarter of the states in the U.S., specifically in Los Angeles County, California, my local community. People here pay 9.5% in addition to the already high cost of menstrual products. The argument is that menstrual products are not a necessity and as such, have a “luxury” tax, like cigarettes or liquor. At the time of my project, menstrual products were subject to tax in 35 states!
“Women’s rights are human’s rights and human’s rights are women’s rights.”
My main goal in raising awareness for this tax was to encourage people to call their representatives and share their opinions about the tax. To do this, working with CVS and the Women's Foundation of California, I created a Pink-Tax free day at my local CVS pharmacy. I convinced CVS, a major drug store, to hold a sale of 10% off all menstrual products for a day (January 20, 2019).
Leading up to my sale I launched a social media campaign announcing the day of the sale (Instagram, NextDoor, and Facebook). I placed posters in areas near the CVS, and I handed out postcards to neighbors. In the midst of that, I spoke to a Junior Girl Scout Troop about my project and gave them Gold Award advice (video below). On the day of the sale, I set up a table where I handed out more postcards, discussed my research, answered questions about the Pink Tax/Menstrual Tax and directed people to the feminine hygiene product aisle.
One exciting result of my project and the Pink Tax Free Day is that on the day of the sale, the menstrual products department grossed $2,765.00 from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. That is $618.00 more than they grossed the previous day at the same time on the same type of products. More people were interested in buying menstrual products at the reduced, “non-taxed,” rate. It also indicates two things: 1. if the tax were repealed it would help sales of the products and 2. the products would be more accessible to people with less disposable income.
My big idea is that CVS or any other community or national drug store would continue the “tax free” sale day once per month — the average amount of times people need to purchase menstrual products until the tax is repealed. It would be a wonderfully symbolic way to help flatten gender income inequality. Please contact me if you would like to see my sustainability presentation on how to achieve that goal.
GOLD AWARD/CAP PROJECT STATS:
PROJECT TIMELINE: September 1, 2018 - February 10, 2019
TOTAL HOURS: 84
AWARDED: Girl Scout Gold Award, Greater Los Angeles, June 8, 2019
the period project: campaign
Point of Purchase Postcards
I placed the postcards on the shelves of the store and in the feminine hygiene aisle to raise awareness about the Pink Tax and inform shoppers about how they can help repeal the tax.
Girl Scout Table
I set up a table at CVS to discuss with others the 10% off sale and the Tampon Tax effect on women everywhere. My fellow girl scouts joined me!
Gold Award Ceremony
The ceremony, held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and celebrated with a networking Gala and fundraiser at the Westfield Century City, celebrated 326 girls — the largest class of Gold Award winners in the U.S.
more about the girl scouts of america gold award:
The Girl Scouts of America Gold Award builds up young leaders throughout the country and implements change from a young age. The requirements include at least 80 hours in total spent working on the project, among many other things. Learn more about the Gold Award.