More and more, women are trying to take charge of what we're in charge of, which, among a list of other duties, includes our children, our homes, and our recreation time. Women control approximately 80 percent of every consumer dollar spent, and, we are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about spending it, too. Home improvement, home purchasing, and the renovation business are just some notable areas where women are flexing their muscles. In 2005, women bought 47 percent of all painting supplies, and nearly half of all new bathtubs! Best Buy, a consumer electronics retailer that historically sold its products predominately to boys and men, saw a dramatic flip several years ago, and now, women outspend men $55 billion to $41 billion. That's significant buying power, isn't it?
In many domains in life, we're shattering old taboos about what we can or can't do, i.e., wield a hammer, purchase dry-wall, handle a mortgage. Whether we're in charge of the purse or not, we're influencing 90 percent of the total purchases. Hmmm. Did Atlas blink?
The female message is loud and clear. "Make way...we're taking our seat at the table." Based on the signals women are sending, many companies have begun to realign their marketing and design practices, and are reaching out to an increasingly female-centric consumer base that has more financial muscle and purchasing independence than ever before. Even with the economy in its current chaotic state of flux, women are a force to be reckoned with. The earth's largest consumer group is made up of women, and we spend about $5 trillion worldwide. More and more companies in the United States and elsewhere are waking up to the fact that if they overlook women, they do so at their own financial peril.
All over the globe, take-charge women are creating new landscapes, constructing new options, and charting alternate pathways for the young girls of the future. Our gender numbers have been gradually increasing, and as of November 1, 2006, there were 152 million females in the United States alone...upending the males, whose numbers topped out at 148 million. In 2007, of the 120 million women age 16 years and over, 71 million -- or 59.3% were labor force participants. And in 2007, 3.5 million of those women worked in nontraditional occupations. Some statisticians surmise that if the current trends continue, women will earn more money in the US than men by 2028. If that is indeed the case, we'll have accomplished the unimaginable; instead of simply serving the proverbial meal to others, we'll be cutting a substantial wedge from the mother lode for ourselves. Now, that's a prediction worth saluting.
But here is where statistics and hard numbers can be disconcerting, and fail to paint an entirely accurate global picture. Though women are nearly half of the US workforce, and women in fact perform 66 percent of the world's work, do we claim ownership of nearly half of the wealth? Nope. Not even close. Here in the US, despite the 1963 equal pay for equal work law, women only earn 77 cents to the dollar compared to men. Globally, we earn only 10 percent of the world's income, and own less than 1 percent of the world's land. As for our seat at the table, are we being equitably represented? Sadly, no...not yet. As of 2005, a United Nations study showed that nearly 96 percent of all Heads of State were men, and about 92 percent of all presiding officers of parliament were men.
Wouldn't you think that because of the sheer number of women that the global issues confronting and confounding women's experience would be better addressed, and command a more prominent place on the national agenda? What is a woman's worth, after all? Perhaps buying power and even the impact of sheer number is not enough. Bella Abzug, famous American Congresswoman and leader of the woman's movement once said, "They used to give us a day -- it was called International Women's Day. In 1975 they gave us a year, the Year of the Woman. Then from 1975 to 1985, they gave us a decade, the Decade of the Woman. I said at the time, who knows. If we behave, they may let us into the whole thing. Well we didn't behave and here we are."
At this seminal moment in history when Americans inaugurate the first African American President, we have an opportunity to dismantle stereotypes and mindsets that restrict the well-being and growth of our society -- including the unbalanced status and representation of women. I am looking forward to it.
Follow Cheryl Saban Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/csaban
Step up to the plate and continue the dialogue.
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I have no doubt that the stats are similar for black people as compared to white people.
That said, nobody is interested in giving any financial reparations to anybody (except their own). And in an economy that's de-leveraging so fast you can feel your ears pop, few are going to spend a lot of time worrying about whatever gross societal inequalities still exist in America.
Bill Cosby, to the consternation of many in the black community, got it right when he told black folks to stop fussing over what white folks would and wouldn't do for them to close the gap - and instead just concentrate on closing it themselves.
In these times that's good advice for women as well.
I welcome women's participation at a higher level in many areas of our society.
But the aggressive context of male-bashing from the 70's and onward needs to go
away. American society has been chipping away at the idea of men being masculine,
saying that this is excessive bravado. Simultaneously millions of women are disillusioned
by the fact that really masculine men are hard to find these days with all of the "don't touch"
political correctness. Women who are anxious to partner with and support good men as
mates are badly needed in this world.
Your comment; Quote-All over the globe, take-charge women are creating new landscapes, constructing new options, and charting alternate pathways for the young girls of the future," is
ridiculous. Women in the Middle East, Africa and in many areas of Asia are worse off than ever and
few women in this nation say anything about it.
Let's move on, forcefully as two genders but as partners, not competitors.
1. Respect for their bodies, minds, opinions, contributions, potential and ambitions
2. Equal Pay for Equal Work
3. Equal opportunity in all areas of society
4. Power to act
Many women keep whingeing about inequality in a two-gender situation, and get pi**ed off when someone attempts to add some logic worth considering. "Yawn" all you want from your intractable position. Acceptance/equality come from synergy, not strife. It has to be "YOU A N D ME" if it is going to work. No one is going to respond to polarized threats and whining to the degree that seems to be wanted. Everyone needs to assess the game and make adjustments so that she/he can win. Expecting the game to change because it seems "unfair" is really tough. I have employed many women, paid them way above market, given huge bonuses and profit sharing. And I've received many testimonials from them for how empowered the felt to have been given the responsibility and the compensation/benefits/ They EARNED their positions by how they interviewed and showed up, not merely because they were women. I think many PEOPLE of both genders, who do not have qualifications or presence, too often blame others for their own inadequacies. In my experience I have seen it a lot and it is sad.
I wish you well getting what YOU want.