With so many societal advances, with men and women playing more equal roles (we don’t have equality yet, but we’re certainly closer than we’ve been in the past) I would have put down money on the fact that the gender gap was decreasing, or that women were taking on more male traits, certainly.

According to a New York Times article, the opposite is happening - gender gaps are widening.

When men and women take personality tests, some of the old Mars-Venus…

...continue to read "Are Gender Gaps Widening?"

Ying Cheng and I share one thing in common – we hate pink phones.

OK, actually, we share a few things in common.   But one of them is an interest in technology designed specifically for women.   Too often, we see big companies who want to reach out to the women’s market, so they simply take an existing product and make it pink.   We’re both members of the “no pink…

...continue to read "No Pink Phones – A New Twist on Technology for Women"

Move over Soccer Mom – there’s a new political label in town.   Hockey Mom.

While past elections focused on the key voting block of the Soccer Mom, now it appears there may be a new focus.  This year, we have a candidate who is a self-proclaimed “Hockey Mom”.

As a marketing to women enthusiast, and a long-time researcher of Soccer Moms, this is one of those marketing insight opportunities that has me salivating. �…

...continue to read "Hockey Mom Vs. Soccer Mom – Will It Win Votes?"

...continue to read "Do Ultra Thin Models Sell More Clothes?"

The best marketing to women experts will tell you that marketing to “women” as a generalized category is usually less than ideal. It’s not about marketing to women, it’s about the female customer, and about seeing her real. And that means NOT marketing to a stereotype, which is something that I couldn’t agree with more.

But then where does that leave broad-based gender differences and reality-based demographic information?  For instance, women make or influence 85% of all consumer purchasing decisions and control the…

...continue to read "Is the New Mint.com Marketing to Women Through Design?"

Why is it that live chat icons always feature pretty girls with a headset?    Why not have a good looking guy with a headset?

Is the strategy that men will want to talk to a pretty girl?  And women may be more comfortable talking to another woman than a man?   I don’t know.   But a recent study might provide some answers.

Robert Dooley at Future Lab has a great post A…

...continue to read "Can An Image of a Pretty Woman Boost Conversion?"

Maria Reitan  and I had a great conversation on her radio show Purse Strings.    She wanted to know about how you can better understand your target demographics.  Maria asked some great questions about marketing to women, how women use the Internet, and the burning question on everyone’s minds – why I spend all my holidays in the bathroom.

Give it a listen.

...continue to read "Holly Buchanan Interview on Purse Strings"

Guy Kawasaki recently blogged about an article that attempts to explain how women work.

There are some interesting tidbits including why women may be more stressed than men, how Barbie has affected women’s eating disorders, and some cool brain differences.

I wrote about some of these differences in The Soccer Mom Myth.  Differences between men and women DO exist.   It’s ok to say so.   But what’s even more important is to understand how…

...continue to read "How Women Work"

Is there a difference in the way men and women use search?   Is there a way to better meet the needs of women in your search strategy and campaigns?

These are some of the questions I discussed with Gord Hotchkiss, President and CEO of Enquiro Research.

More and more studies are showing there are differences in how men and women use websites.   Is there a difference in how they use search as well? �…

...continue to read "Women and Search-an Interview with Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro"

Would you like to join me at a marketing to women event here in New York City?

About.com and Brandweek are presenting a roundtable and cocktail party Thursday, July 17, starting at 3pm. You can join me as part of the exclusive in-person audience for “Online She Trusts… or Does She? “- an expert roundtable discussing women’s interactions in the virtual world – where they go and what and who they believe, what they respond to, and what they steer clear…

...continue to read "Marketing to Women Event in NYC"