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This store charges women less than men to fight wage inequality
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A new pop-up shop in Pennsylvania has decided to charge women only 76 percent of the retail price. - photo by JJ Feinauer
The products in Elana Schlenker's pop-up shop are hand-crafted by many talented and diverse women, but that's not their only draw. According to Schlenker, women who buy these products will receive a special discount.

Schlenker believes that women deserve a financial break in her store, which currently resides in Pennsylvania, because of what economists have come to call the gender-wage gap.

Id been seeing the 78 percent statistic everywhere, Schlenker told BuzzFeed. I know a lot of women dont feel appreciated or as valued as they should in the workplace, and I thought there was something I could do to help a little.

Because the wage gap in Pennsylvania is estimated to be 76 cents to every man's dollar, Schlenker only charges female patrons 76 percent of the cover price. When the shop moves locations, her pricing will be adjusted to fit the gap in that state. Louisana has the highest gap in wages, according to the American Association of University Women, which might be why, as Buzzfeed reported, Schlenker plans to take her operation there in the fall.

Her ultimate goal is "to get people talking about the wage gap and these other women's issues," Schlenker told The Huffington Post. "Remedying this isn't about discriminating against men, or even passing legislation necessarily," she continued. Her hope is that by testing such a model, others will follow suit, bringing more awareness to the issue of gender inequality and pressuring the market itself to respond.

The issue of equal pay remains heated. While there is rising attention to the cause of economic justice among the sexes exemplified by Patricia Arquette's recent Oscar speech there are also those on both sides of the political aisle claiming the data supporting these claims is either misunderstand or simply nonexistent.

"By focusing our outrage into a tidy, misleading statistic, weve missed the actual challenges," Hanna Rosin wrote in Slate in 2013.

According to Rosin, there are more nuanced factors, such as "inadequate family leave policies and child care options" and "women defaulting to being the caretakers" that contribute to the pay gap, not just the simple problem that women are paid less for equal work.

But still, the statistical difference which currently rests at 77 cents to every man's dollar nationwide, according to the White House is a striking data point that has grown more prominent in the public mind.

According to the Pew Research Center, 63 percent of men and 77 percent of women believe this country needs to continue making changes to give men and women equality in the workplace."

Schlenker clearly hopes that equality will extend to the marketplace as well.