In recent decades, people have started to realize that women are a significant driving force in the economy. Studies have shown that women typically make the purchasing decisions in the home. An article from the Harvard Business Review said that “women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined” and “they control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending” (Silverstein & Sayre, 2015). The Bible even notes the importance of women’s role in making financial decisions. It says that “she considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard” and “she sees that her trading is profitable” (NIV Holy Bible, 2011, Proverbs 31:16-18).
Unfortunately, many companies do not realize the significance of the role that women play in the economy, and they often release ads that come across as sexist or condescending against women. Even when they do realize the importance of the female consumer, many marketers miss the mark when trying to create ads that attract female consumers. When companies do a poor job of reaching the female consumer, money is not flowing to its best use because they are missing out on a whole demographic that could influence the demand for their product. In order for money to flow to its best use, producers need to market better to reach female consumers.
References:
Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011.
Silverstein, Michael J, and Kate Sayre. “The Female Economy.” Harvard Business Review. Last modified July 16, 2015. Accessed September 23, 2021. https://hbr.org/2009/09/the-female-economy.
I feel like you are touching on an important though overlooked subject. Majority of women do run the household and households need a lot of various items for its upkeep. And I agree thats a huge area of potential business companies are missing out on due to their inefficient marketing.
Megan,
This post was super interesting! I have not put much thought into the significance that women play in the market today. I thought your sources and Biblical references were very insightful. I did not know just how large of a role women play in consumer spending, but it does make sense. You are right about the poor job that many companies do in attracting female customers. I hope that this is an issue that more companies address in the future and make an effort to change. Thank you!
Megan, great post! I have not heard any kind of economics-related article about this before, and I find it really strange that companies have such a hard time marketing to their biggest and most influential consumer; women. Hopefully, more businesses will become aware of this, and decidedly hire more women in jobs that better advertise and understand their consumers.