The gender gap does appear to be shrinking somewhat for women in STEM. And while some states appear to have a smaller gap than others, the state with the smallest gap still shows more than twice as many men than women, in Maryland. We still have a long way to go. I would like to thank Hazel Garcia, writer and designer for Investment Zen, for drafting the following post. It provides great insight into exactly where the gender gaps in STEM are located. STEM jobs, involving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, have traditionally been held by men, but over the years,

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Filed under: Connecting with Women, Sheconomy, Targeting Women, Women in STEM | No Comments »

MILLENNIAL WOMEN ACCOUNTED FOR $80 BILLION IN NEW CAR SALES LAST YEAR! Of the 17.5 million new cars sold in the U.S. in 2015, millennials made up 27-percent, of which 53-percent (2.5 million) were women. Considering the average new car price of $33,000 in 2015, this translates to millennial women being responsible for approximately $80 billion in new car sales. So, how much do you know about “her” when it comes to buying a car? It’s not enough to simply understand women as a whole. To effectively reach the millennial female during the car buying process, you must be sensitive to how she differs from non-millennial females. A recent study conducted by Women-Drivers.com sheds light

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Filed under: Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Marketing to Millennial Women, Marketing to Single Women, Marketing to Women | No Comments »

There is no denying that women are rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with if you are in the business of selling cars. Just a few of the reasons could be that women now hold more driver’s licenses than men – 105 million women, compared with 104 million men. They influence 80% of U.S. car purchases and they control more than $13 trillion in personal wealth today. Women buy 65 percent of all new tires, make 65 percent of new car purchases and 45 percent of light trucks and SUV purchases. Yet, currently, the percentage of female employees in the auto industry remains stagnant at

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Filed under: Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Female Business Owners, Marketing to Boomer Women, Marketing to Single Women, Marketing to Women, Women and Customer Service | No Comments »

While it seems that social media happened overnight, the technology has actually been evolving over the past three decades as you can see in the Infographic from Simplify360 below. Even, Six Degrees, considered the first modern social network, was launched as early as 1997 allowing users to create profiles and become friends with other users. Yet, although it attracted as many as 3.5 million members at one point, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon appears to have had much longer staying power. Perhaps just a bit before it’s time, Six Degrees shut down in 2001, just three years before “The Facebook” launched. But for

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Filed under: Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Marketing 2.0, Marketing to Women, Social Media, Women and social media, Women and the Internet | No Comments »

All moms are not the same anymore than all women are the same. Yet, marketers not only continue to lump them all together as one segment, they tend to forget that moms are still women and have needs in addition to being a mom. Nicola Kemp puts it best in an article she authored in Marketing Magazine appropriately titled, “Marketing to Mums is Broken”, “In brands’ persistent, misguided belief that they can market to mothers as a homogeneous group, their characterization of women ranges from the idealized to the absurd.” The article also reveals the disappointing findings shown below from research conducted by

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Filed under: Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Marketing to Women, Marketing to Women Myths, Marketing-to-Moms | No Comments »

With consumers using smartphones 80% of the time to search the Internet, brands must shift their focus as well. Consumers now expect their mobile experience to be everything they are used to finding on their computers. This makes it even more important to understand that there are distinct differences in how women and men use both social media and their smartphones. The following infographic from FinancesOnline.com reveals some of the interesting patterns emerging. Just a few of the highlights: Women outnumber men when using social media for staying in touch with others, sharing photos, entertainment and gathering how-to information. And they continue to dominate Facebook

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Filed under: Connecting with Women, Marketing to Women, Social Media, Targeting Women, Women and Customer Service, Women and social media, Women and the Internet | No Comments »

In June of this year, Cannes Lions will introduce a new Lion – the Glass Lion: The Lion for Change – which honors work that challenges gender bias and shatters stereotypical images of men and women which remain rooted in marketing messages. A jury headed by Cindy Gallop, Founder and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld / MakeLoveNotPorn, will assess work entered into the new category. Gallop stated, “I couldn’t be more thrilled about the introduction of the Glass Lion, which demonstrates Cannes Lions’ commitment to ensuring that both our industry and the work we create not only more accurately reflects the world around us,

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Filed under: Blogging, Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Marketing to Women, Targeting Women, Women and social media, Women and the Internet | 1 Comment »

tsu·na·mi – (t)so͞oˈnämē/ –  a series of ocean waves generated by  displacements in the sea floor, landslides, or volcanic activity.  A tsunami wave may come gently ashore or may increase in height to become a fast moving wall of turbulent water several meters high. Not meaning to sound overly dramatic here, but a tsunami is the visual that came to my mind as I read Pamela Ryckman’s, book, Stiletto Network. I believe most male decision makers from CEO’s to marketers to owners would benefit from reading this book. Otherwise, they will not even feel the underlying shift now taking place which is

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Filed under: Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Marketing to Women, Targeting Women, Women and social media, Women and the Internet | 1 Comment »

It is well known that technology is a male-dominated industry. Just take a look at a couple of statistics noted by Ryan Holmes, creator of Hootsuite, in an article titled, “Why the Tech Industry is (Still) Failing Women:” Only eight percent of startup founders are women, according to EZebis, a site that supports women in tech. Women comprise fewer than 30 percent of U.S. computer science and engineering programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, according to the National Science Foundation. YET, WHO ACTUALLY PURCHASES TECH PRODUCTS? Let’s take a look at a few more numbers. Women in Western countries use the internet

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Filed under: Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Marketing 2.0, Marketing to "Green" Women, Marketing to Boomer Women, Marketing to Single Women, Marketing to Women, Social Media, Targeting Women, Women and social media, Women and the Internet | 1 Comment »

Guys, are you serious about finding, reaching, understanding and connecting with the highly sought after diverse, female audience? My advice? Consider attending this worthwhile event. Oh…. and that doesn’t mean sending the little lady in the office. More and more, women are moving into CEO, CMO and entrepreneurial roles. And these women understand the importance of selling to the female customer. Do you? More importantly, they are learning how to do it. Are you? This year marks the 10th annual Marketing to Women Conference. Held in May, in Chicago, you [or your competition] will hear from it’s founder Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to

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Filed under: Advertising to Women During Recession, Buying Power of Women, Connecting with Women, Female Business Owners, Marketing to "Green" Women, Marketing to Boomer Women, Marketing to Single Women, Marketing to Women, Marketing-to-Moms, Targeting Women | No Comments »