Abstract:

The following summarizes the key findings of my book. Marketing to Women: A Global Perspective, which examines the women's market in ten countries: United States and Canada (North America); Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela (Latin America); Great Britain, West Germany, and Italy (Europe); and Japan and Australia (the Far East). The study intertwines such basic demographic facts as age, occupation, marital status, and presence of children in the household with attitudes and social values to describe the dynamic, ever-shifting international consumer marketplace. The conceptual approach suggests an actionable way to segment the women's market. One dimension to consider is women's place in the life cycle, which divides women into four groups: -1 married women with children, -2 childless wives, -3 unmarried women with no family responsibilities, and -4 single mothers. The other dimension is based on the concept of the New Demographics. The New Demographics typology segments working and non-working women into four distinct groups, each with a different view of women’s role, each with different life aspirations, and each with certain consumer predilections. The groups are: career women; women who consider their work "just a job”; housewives who plan to go to work in the future; and stay-at-homes who want to remain there.