If you need to purchase diapers or tampons in Louisiana today, you won’t pay state sales tax, but that wasn’t always the case. For decades, Louisiana placed taxes on period products and diapers. Known as the “Pink Tax,” this financial burden disproportionately impacted women, particularly women of color.
In 2017, Senator JP Morrell took on this issue in the state legislature with two bills, including a constitutional amendment, and Lift Louisiana got involved in supporting his efforts. Improving the health and wellbeing of women is a key aspect of our work, and we saw this policy sitting at the intersections of reproductive freedom, economic equity, and gender justice. Research shows that diapers cost the average family $1,500 a year, with one in three families struggling to provide clean diapers for their babies. Our state has the highest rates of child poverty and single-mother households, populations who are disproportionately impacted by these taxes.
“‘It was a really important piece of legislation that was at the intersection of reproductive freedom, economic justice, and gender justice.” ”
Most childcare centers require parents to provide diapers for their children. This is why, nationally, 57% of caregivers missed four days of work or school because they were unable to access diapers. As a result, these caregivers lose those days of wages, and the cycle perpetuates itself: unable to access diapers, caregivers lose income; with less income, they cannot afford vital items; without those items, they lose more work. Girls face a parallel trap. Many report missing school because they cannot access period products.
The Pink Tax was not incidental to poverty in Louisiana, it was actively sustaining it, systematically preventing women and girls from working and attending school. In a state that vehemently claims to value life, we pushed to reduce the cost of these products, and put money back in the hands of individuals who have periods and families.
In 2017, both bills succeeded in passing committee, however, they failed to garner enough votes to move to the floor for a vote. In 2019, Senator Morrell brought these bills back to the legislature, and this time, they came much closer to passage. Though ultimately they failed to pass again, we knew that this fight could be won. With a little more support, we would have the votes we needed to eliminate the pink tax.
Over the next year, we partnered with national organizations to garner more support and attention on a grassroots level. Lift Louisiana partnered with Period Equity and menstrual care company LOLA to bring a truck filled with menstrual products to Tulane University’s campus. Students could purchase menstrual products and use their receipts to create and send cards to Louisiana legislators expressing their opposition to the state’s tax on menstrual products. By generating visible public support and directly communicating that opposition to lawmakers, the campaign helped build momentum for legislative efforts to eliminate the tax.
In 2020, Representative Aimee Freeman introduced a new bill building on the Pink Tax momentum. This bill shifted the aim to grant local governments the authority to eliminate their municipal sales tax on diapers and menstrual products. A broad and powerful coalition rallied behind the bill, bringing together organizations ranging from Lift Louisiana to the Girl Scouts to the Diaper Network.
It successfully passed in the House with 80 yeas, 16 nays and the Senate 31 yeas and 2 nays. With local governments handed the ability to cut the tax, we shifted our efforts to advocate for specific municipalities to do so. Soon after, New Orleans became the first city to end the pink tax. Baton Rouge and Shreveport followed. For Rep Freeman, the work didn’t stop there, and in 2021 she put forward another version of the bill that finally removed the state sales tax in 2022.
“Lift Louisiana was instrumental because they were working on [eliminating the Pink Tax] before I was even in the legislature...it’s a real example of how good really good policy sometimes takes years to to happen.”
Ultimately, working to eliminate the Pink Tax was about more than sales tax. It was a step toward gender equity and financial freedom. By making essential menstrual and childcare products more affordable, Louisiana gave women, girls, and families greater control over their finances and reduced one barrier to accessing education, employment, and economic stability.
This work was made possible in part by funding from the Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, the Tides Stronger Together Fund, and the Collaborative for Gender + Reproductive Equity, a donor-advised fund of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.