andHow To Reach Women

From Harvard to Capital Hill - Women Tapped To Lead

We tend to keep our posts strictly to marketing topics but often it's important to view the bigger societal picture to understand the varied and complex factors that define today's women's markets.  Increasingly women are stepping into leadership roles that have long been the dominion of men and how that will shape the future of our country and coming generations of women is something marketers should keep in mind as stereotyping and one-size-fits-all messages become increasingly irrelevant.

In addition to the historic appointment of the first female Speaker of the House and Hilary Clinton making her bid for the nation's highest office, Harvard University has announced that it plans to appoint the first female president in the institution's 371-year history.  Today's New York Times (reg. required) reports that Drew Gilpin Faust (pictured left) will take over where Lawrence H. Summers, who resigned amid faculty discontent a year ago, left off.  You may recall Summers infamous remark that women had less intrinsic aptitude for math and science than men, which (in his mind) explained why there were less women in leadership roles in math and science and which (in our minds) makes Faust's appointment that much sweeter.

photo credit:Tony Rinaldo, Harvard University via Associated Press

Times They Are A Changin'

Imagine a world where the family places their hopes that they have spawned the next great CEO, scientist or entrepreneur on the shoulders of their daughters instead of their sons.  Today many families have high expectations for both, but, according to an AP article, a new report scheduled to be presented to the California Postsecondary Education Commission today shows that girls are enrolling in and finishing college in California at an increasingly higher rate than their male counterparts.  In fact, according to the report, in 2004, males made up just under 44 percent of enrollment at the state's two public university systems, although they accounted for over 51 percent of the college-aged population. The effect seems to start in high school where 3 boys drop out for every 2 girls.  And this isn't just some nutty California thing, these trends reflect similar patterns at schools across the country, where women account for an estimated 55 percent to 60 percent of enrollment. As educators work to determine how to better engage and encourage boys to stay in high school and pursue higher education, we are certain to see these current numbers reflected in tomorrow's workforce.  While many consumer-facing companies begin to shift their marketing strategies to better reach women, are business-to-business companies thinking about how they might need to adjust their messaging to sell to a predominantly female white-collar workforce?  One that has a higher number of Latina and African American women than ever before?  And how will this highly educated audience respond to more traditional marketing messages from car manufacturers, financial services providers or consumer packaged goods companies?  This marketing to women thing - it's not just a nice idea.  It's an economic reality and one that isn't going away anytime soon.