More and more women are expanding their horizons and finding new ways to define and express themselves. For marketers and public relations practioners whose target audience happens to be women, it can be a tough job keeping up with all the new data and statistics about what women are doing these days.
Women in the Workplace
Women are in big demand and in control in business and industry ranging from farming to running Fortune 500 companies. Co-authors Claire Shipman and Katty Kay describe in their new book Womenomics (Harper Collins, 2009) how women executives have become “the hot commodity” in the workplace.
Women executives have proven themselves to be better leaders and better on the bottom line in terms of profit.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, while the number of farms across the country has been decreasing, the number of farms owned and operated by women has increased. The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana reported in January 2009 that 27% of the state’s farms are owned by women.
More magazine, a publication aimed at women 40 years old and over, reported in the June 2009 issue “The number of women ages 55 to 64 who are running farms in the United States has risen more than 15% since 2002.”
Women Buying Cars
Shipman’s and Kay’s book research found that women now buy more cars than men and more car manufacturers are designing to meet the needs of women more than those of men. Women purchased 53% of the automobiles sold in 2007. In addition to purchasing on their own, women also influence a staggering 85% of all car purchases.
As such, many car manufacturers are designing their cars according to the driving needs of women. Men generally want performance and features out of their cars where women are concerned with safety, storage, and convenience.
Women and Education
Women have also earned more educational degrees than men. According to Shipman’s and Kay’s research, women have earned 57% of the bachelor degrees awarded in the U.S. and 58% of the graduate degrees.
New Brand of Motorcycle Riders – Women
The June 2009 issue of More magazine reported that 53% of motorcycle riders are over the age of 40 and they log twice as many miles than women under the age of forty. A survey conducted in 2008 by the Motorcycle Industry Council and reported by Women Riders Now showed that female riders in general have increased 29% since 2003.
Marketing to Women
What does any of those statistics have to do with marketing and selling to women? Knowing where women work, spend their leisure time, what their interests are and how to reach them is vital to developing effective marketing to this very active and decisive market.
Research reported in Womenomics shows that women earned two trillion dollars in income in 2001. Add to that fact that women like to shop and a prime market becomes very well defined.
Read more about Womenomics by viewing Women Executives in High Demand.
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