Is there a gender bias in brands neglecting to release smaller shoe sizes?

Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. If you love them too and decide to purchase through the links below, we may receive a commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

The sneaker game remains male-dominated despite there being several female-led resale businesses leading the charge.

In this week’s episode of Complex and In The Know’s The Flip, host Racks Rogan explores this gender divide with the owners of female-founded resale business, Sneak City.

Tia Hall and Anastasia Lemley of Sneak City shared their thoughts on why sneaker brands don’t often cater to female consumers when orchestrating sneaker drops and neglect to release smaller shoe sizes.

“They are going to get more sales if they cater to just men because that’s their target market,” Lemley said. “It sucks for us. I’m a seven-and-a-half in mens when I’m actually able to wear a men’s shoe, so that’s good. But the quantity that they make of a seven-and-a-half is nothing compered to the bigger sizes.”

Due to this unfair reality, Lemley added that she often has to go the resale route to get the sneakers she wants.

“Everything we buy for ourselves is resale because we’re not able to cop a seven-and-a-half,” Hall added.

The duo added that brands don’t need to adopt a unisex size structure, but should simply provide more variety.

“Focus on just making it accessible for kids, women, men — whoever wants to wear it,” Lemley said. “It shouldn’t just be a men’s size.”

Check out the video above to see which kicks Racks put on the “Hot” and “Not” lists and which of this week’s hottest releases are worth putting on the resale market.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this $23 retinol cream that shoppers say “works miracles for acne scarring.”

More from In The Know:

How to teach Black History beyond February

Over 20,000 shoppers love this ‘whisper-quiet’ oscillating tower fan that’s ‘cheap, yet high in value’

The best stainless steel cookware sets at 5 different price points — as low as $80

The Amazon Kindle is on sale for just $65 for a limited time

Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: