Wow, that's a loaded statement! The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) decided to try and unpack that concept, conducting the largest global study of women ever (12,000 women in 22 countries). The results: "...women are over-extended, over-worked, over-stressed and under-served by consumer providers." "They want time leverage, more value and suppliers that specifically understand them." Sing it sister!
Seriously, there probably isn't anything in that opening paragraph that surprises you. What is interesting is the degree to which these truths apply across the globe.
With one billion women working outside the home worldwide, it is no wonder they feel stressed. Fact is, women still carry the heavier load at home regardless of their employment status--doing the shopping, meal prep, laundry, cleaning and household administration. This leaves them with little time for themselves and the relationships that matter to them.
The upside of our increased presence in the workforce is that we make more money than ever before (maybe not as much as men, but thats a topic for another day). We also have more responsibility for managing it. In fact, 77% of women say they manage their families household finances. This responsibility is the major point of stress in their lives. Specifically:
- 81% don't think they are saving enough for retirement
- 73% don't think they save with any consistency
- 41% are saving less than they believe they should
Interestingly, women view companies in the financial space as having failed them the most. In fact, 49% of women say investment companies do not do a good job of understanding and meeting their needs. Also on their list of industries that need to do a better job with women are:
- Automotive (48%)
- Banks (47%)
- Life Insurance (45%)
- Physicians (42%)
- Car Insurance (39%)
All of these industries represent major financial commitments for women. The companies that figure out how to better serve us will clearly have the advantage. To do so, however, they need to overcome 5 key challenges acccording to Michael J. Silverstein of BCG:
- Poor product design
- Clumsy sales and marketing
- Lack of time-saving solutions
- No meaningful differentiation or value
- Failure to develop community
One of our main goals for Jane Nation is to listen to what you care about and then give voice to your concerns and ideas to companies who want to better serve you. We are just beginning the process of reaching out to companies based on feedback you've provided to date about apparel and food. In the days ahead, we will be discussing the industries that frustrate women the most, and are listed above. We hope you'll get involved in our conversations. Visit the Jane Effect or Powder Room pages to see what we are talking about today.
Want to know how you compare to women worldwide? Take the study at womenspeakworldwide.com. The results will be published in a forthcoming book entitled, "Women Want More: How to Capture Your Share of the World's Largest, Fastest-Growing Market" due out next month.
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