The executive, Daiane Trombini, 35, normally shares each of the customary - and often boring - day-to-day chores with her husband. Together, they set the sums that will be spent on building the new house, discuss the maid's salary, decide on the purchase of household appliances and, since they work far from home (the two live in Jundiaí, 60 kilometers from the city of Sao Paulo, where their offices are located), they take turns picking up their daughter from tennis lessons. This equality of conditions - something which women fought so hard for last century - stops there, believe it or not.
As regional director for the Brazilian subsidiary of the Sandoz pharmaceutical company, Daiane earns 20% more than her husband, a marketing executive for Whirlpool of the USA. This discrepancy is even greater when you compare the couple's expenses. Daiane spends up to 2 000 reais per month on her cell phone, four times more than her partner. She took the initiative of giving her daughter, only 11 years of age, a sophisticated Samsung Star touch screen model. During the 15 days she was in Brazil in January to arrange her move - she and her family spent the past two years in the United States - Daiane invested nearly 100 000 reais to buy a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV imported from South Korea.
Her Her husband drives an i30, manufactured by the same company, which costs half the price. "Of course, he gave a few opinions about the purchase," says Daiane. "But in the end, the purchase decision was entirely mine." husband drives an i30, manufactured by the same company, which costs half the price. "Of course, he gave a few opinions about the purchase," says Daiane. "But in the end, the purchase decision was entirely mine."
In any other moment of history, the behavior of a woman like Daiane would be seen as an exception by large company marketing and sales executives. In a world still dominated by men, who hold 70% of the positions of command at the largest companies in the world (according to data from a survey released little more than a year ago by Harvard University), the executive would be nothing more than an isolated example of a professional who, after years of great effort, had finally been able to break through the blockade. More than normal expenses with her cell phone or the acquisition of a luxury car would be nothing more than mere demonstrations of this new status, and as such, should not receive much - if any - attention. Until the crisis of 2008, when many specialists looked for possible solutions for what seemed to be an endless economic quagmire. To everyone's general surprise, one of the best responses did not come from dazzling innovations or from more of the government sticking its nose in the economy - but rather from consumers like Daiane. A recent survey elaborated by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that, in the next five years, women's global income will grow 5 trillion dollars, reaching 18 trillion - more than the sum of the gross domestic product for Brazil, Russia, India and China, the famous Bric. "It is the largest emerging market of all times. Women are going to lead the post-crisis world," says American Kate Sayre, one of the study's authors. "From mere secondary role players in the economy, they have become the biggest hope for growth for several countries."
Forget the feminist demands, the war of the sexes, the affirmative action policies for genders. Think only of the market, the potential for consumption, and in a final analysis, in how this unquestionable ascension of women changes the economy and how companies see the market.
Of the 18.4 trillion dollars destined for consumption in the world, women spent 12 trillion - almost the American GDP.
Until today, women were basically seen as "influencers" in purchasing decisions - especially as housewives who help manage the family budget. Of the 18.4 trillion dollars currently destined for world consumption, it is estimated that 12 trillion, equivalent to the GDP of the USA, is somehow determined by women. "What is in discussion now is not so much their capacity to convince," says Sayre. "But how much money they can earn and inject into the economy." Judging from their performance over recent years, this injection will be very strong. According to the BCG survey, the global mass salary for women has grown on average 8% per year since 2003 - compared to a 5.8% increase in men's earnings. With that, the projection is for the sum controlled by women and destined to world consumption to exceed
20 trillion dollars in 2015, compared to today's 12 trillion. For purposes of comparison: today's global mass salary for men is 23.4 trillion dollars. A study conducted by the Brazilian research institute Sophia Mind, from the Bolsa de Mulher site, and to which EXAME had exclusive access, gives an idea of the market potential for women in Brazil. (Observe that we no longer speak of the female market, since their consumption goes much beyond the obvious lipstick, perfume and handbag.) Of the nearly 2 trillion reais destined for consumption in 2009, women were responsible for 1.3 trillion, and of that sum, 800 billion were direct consumption and the rest counted on their influence. Women are already a large part of the car, apartment, education and health markets, just to mention a few examples. "The purchasing power of these consumers will no doubt be one of the best paths for growth of the Brazilian market," says Andiara Petterle, president of the Bolsa de Mulher site and research coordinator.
The most recent numbers from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) show the advances of women here. From 2001 to 2008, the mass salary of women (the sum of all women's salaries included in the formal job market) grew 42.3%, whereas for men it grew 25.9%. Today, the salary of a female professional equals 71% that of a man who performs the same function. In 1993, that ratio did not exceed 32%. "There is still much room to grow, not only in the number of women who can enter the job market, but also in the income equalization process," says Andiara. "And this can be more easily seen in emerging countries. In the developed world, a great part of the women are already in the job market, earning salaries that are very compatible to their male peers." A study by Goldman Sachs estimates that the reduction in salary differences between men and women, plus the entry of approximately 150 000 Brazilian women per year in the job market should increase Brazil's GDP almost 1 percentage point per year until 2013 - something around 100 billion reais.
The case of the beautician, Elisabete Rozinelli, 43, offers one of the most notable examples of what may be coming. Married, mother of two, she only began working in 2003. Until then, her main occupation consisted of helping run the house and building where she lived (Elisabete was the resident manager, but she didn't get paid a penny for that). After taking two vocational courses, she went looking for a job. Her first opportunity appeared at a small beauty parlor in Alto da Lapa, in the west of the city of Sao Paulo. After that, Elisabete switched jobs twice. Over the past three years, her remuneration doubled, reaching nearly 8 000 reais per month. In that period, she became one of the 20 million Brazilians who climbed from class C to class AB. Her personal expenses also took a leap. In the last 18 months, she traded in an old 1990 Diplomata for a brand new Ford Ka and she took two international trips. The first, to Portugal, at the beginning of last year, was financed in ten payments. But this year, her 20 day stay in Europe - which cost 11 000 reais, was paid in cash. "My next step will be to buy an apartment," she says. Although advances in women's consumption can be seen in every segment of soceity, it is in the thriving Class C that it is most evident. A recent study conducted by the Data Popular research institute shows that in class A women are responsible for only 25% of the family's total income - whereas at the base of the pyramid, this participation reaches 41%. This occurs because in this social stratum, there are more women who have become heads of household.
According to IBGE data, between 2003 and 2008, women's mass salary grew 42% compared to 26% for men's remuneration.
"Salary equality should arrive in low-income classes first," says Renato Meirelles, director of Data Popular and coordinator of the study. That is what happened to Alice Andrade, 38, from Pernambuco. She earns 1 200 reais per month as a social worker, enough money to barely sustain her parents and younger brother. In order to help with expenses like the purchase of a notebook, stove, refrigerator and cell phone, all purchased at the end of last year, Alice makes another 2 000 reais per month selling cosmetics for Natura. "I go from one credit purchase to another," she says. "I'm always consuming. Even if to do so I need to invent other ways of making money."Women's recent ascension in the consumer market has contributed towards eliminating some stereotypes. The main one is that they only spend on clothes, accessories and cosmetics, leaving more "serious" expenses, like the acquisition of a car or home renovations, up to men. Ok. Women continue - and will continue for all of eternity - to be mad about shoes, accessories, clothes and cosmetics. But the wealth generated by them is distributed in a much more sophisticated manner today.
A good part of their income goes to sectors like education for their children and for themselves, food, telephony and health plans. Check out the profile for Ana Leao, 41, an advertiser from Rio. An avid consumer of beauty products, Ana spends approximately 4 000 reais per month on cosmetics, medications, clothes and services like fitness center, hairdresser and manicure - but she spends an equivalent sum on caring for her 11 year old son on her own. Besides school and therapy, the boy has classes in French, English, rowing and fencing. "There is a myth that women only spend money on lipstick," says Ana, who despite spending a great deal has an investment portfolio of more than 400 000 reais.
This crystallized and at times outdated vision of the female universe explains why stories such as that of executive Marlene Ortega still surprise so many people. At the age of 51, Marlene, a training coordinator for a company specialized in corporate events, has achieved a very comfortable lifestyle. She owns her own car (a 2008 Toyota Corolla), recently bought an apartment in Guarujá, on the coast of Sao Paulo, and has always maintained an ultraconservative investment profile - her portfolio only has real estate and a private pension plan. Marlene takes at least one international trip per year and she keeps 60 bottles of wine in her private wine cellar. She made her most eccentric acquisition in August of last year: a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. "I wanted to accompany my husband on his trips," she says. "It wasn't a very conventional purchase. No one at the store believed the bike was for me."
Although advances in women's consumption can be seen in every segment, it is in Class C that it is most evident.
Real estate, cars, motorcycles, household appliances. In face of such voracious consumers, one would imagine that the business world would be one step ahead, ready to meet their needs, right? Well, that's not been the case. In reality, the cases of companies successful in the art of understanding the needs and desires of women are still rare. Most became victims of their own arrogance, the result of superficial assessments of these consumers. That is what happened to the American computer manufacturer, Dell.
At the end of last year, its executives decided to launch a specific line of notebooks for women. Dell did the obvious - and the obvious didn't work. It launched a range of products with vibrant colors (yes, pink was one), sold over a site called Della, which was more concerned about selling accessories than in properly presenting product qualities. Feeling as if they were being treated like Barbie dolls, hundreds of American consumers stormed the Internet to complain. The controversy reached the pages of the influential New York Times.
According to the newspaper, Dell marketing personnel should "go back to school". "Some companies still think that selling to a woman means painting the product pink," says Rio anthropologist Lívia Barbosa, director of research at Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing. "You need to be much more creative than that. With so little time available, women want practicality." (Dell changed the site's content at the beginning of this year, making it more informative.)
This non-stop search for practicality - and not just bright pink products - is what explains Apple's choice as one of the three most admired brands by women in the world according to a survey by BCG. The secret may reside in the fact that Steve Jobs, the genius behind the company, never cared about treating women differently from other consumers. But, apparently by accident, Jobs responded with his products to one of the great demands by women during an infernal era where buttons and controls proliferate. "Apple products are easier to use, almost intuitive," says Sayre, of BCG. "And that fascinates women, who have increasingly less time to read manuals." Best Buy, one of the largest electro-electronic chains in the United States, used this perception as a basis to remodel some of its stores at the end of 2008. With their eye on a 68 billion dollar market (American women are responsible for 45% of the country's electronics purchases), the chain's executives interviewed 40 consumers from the city of Aurora, Colorado, intent on creating a concept store that would meet their desires. Women wanted brighter stores, rugs in brighter colors, wooden furniture and most of all the creation of environments where it would be possible to understand how the equipment could be connected to each other. Traffic in the concept store increased more than 20%, for the most part thanks to women, and the model was replicated in other points in the United States. During a results disclosure conference on March 25, the president of Best Buy, Brian Dunn, affirmed that most of the 7% growth, comparing the same number of stores in the period between December 2009 and February of this year, was due to the chain's capacity to "attract new consumers, especially women and youths". In Brazil, some companies are beginning to wake up to the importance of attracting the market comprised of women with income. In 2007, after conducting hundreds of surveys with its sales reps, the executives at Cyrela, the second largest real estate developer in the country, realized their designs were neglecting these possible consumers. "We realized that women were going beyond the classic role of merely approving the purchase of the property," says Rosane Ferreira, director of real estate development at Cyrela.
"Some companies think that selling to a woman means painting the product pink," says Lívia Barbosa, director of ESPM.
"In many cases, they were the buyers." In order to win them over, the company began to include beauty salons, fitness and Pilates centers and leisure areas for children in their new properties. At present, women are responsible for 40% of Cyrela's sales in the country - compared to 30% just three years ago. Andreia Mariano, 33, of Sao Paulo, is part of this new profile of clients discovered by Cyrela. Foreign trade coordinator at a multinational car part firm, she purchased an apartment from the real estate developer in Chácara Santo Antonio, a district in the southern section of the city of Sao Paulo in November of last year. The property is appraised at 400 000 reais, and it has a leisure area with a spa, pool and fitness center. "Those 'optionals' were decisive in my choice," says Andreia. "It may seem foolish, but it makes a huge difference in my daily routine." Since they do not have an ample database - or even interest - in this market, some companies discovered the enormous opportunities generated by this public almost by accident. In May 2007, without much fanfare, the Brazilian subsidiary of LG of South Korea launched what would have been just another handset in its broad line of cell phones.Called Shine, this handset in somber hues of gray was developed to please the male market, but it accidentally ended up pleasing female consumers, who were responsible for nearly 20% of its sales in the first year after
its launch. Called Shine, this handset in somber hues of gray was developed to please the male market, but it accidentally ended up pleasing female consumers, who were responsible for nearly 20% of its sales in the first year after its launch. "We noticed, for example, that in restaurants women used the external part of the handset, which is mirrored, to touch up their make-up without needing to go to the restroom," says Eduardo Toni, director of marketing at LG. "Then we decided to pay more attention to this public." One of the first measures was to increase the number of women in its survey groups, from the previous 70 to the current 150 (the same as the number of men surveyed). Based on comments by those interviewed, LG executives found out they simply hated all the wires stretching about the house and they had great difficulty navigating on the Internet with some of their devices, like TVs and cell phones. Taking advantage of the opportunity, in October of last year LG brought a new line of wireless home theaters to Brazil. Three months after its launch, the model was selling 70% more than the traditional equipment. "We found out the markets are not self-excluding," says Toni. "When we launch something that satisfies their needs, sales also go up for the male public."
In a scenario where few companies are truly prepared to meet women's wants, C&C, the construction material retailer is an exception. In September of last year, the company created a specific board to understand and meet that market. The department was called the female client directorate and it is responsible for developing new products and assessing how satisfied the consumers are. One of the first movements led by this new board is the remodeling of its stores. At the beginning of this year, four of the 40 units spread about between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro went through an overhaul - the biggest change has to do with how products are distributed, now imitating home environments, like in decoration stores such as Etna and Tok Stok.
Because the companies do not have a database on this public, they found out about the market's opportunities by chance.
C&C also included white goods in its portfolio, something unthinkable in a sector used to selling tiles and screws. "In our surveys, we realized that the biggest dream women have is to save time," affirms Miriam Gemignani, director of female clients at C&C. Today, 55% of the company's clientele is comprised of women. At a time when world capitalism yearns for new markets that can sustain business growth and generate more wealth, being able to see the evolution of society and the new economic role of the most sensitive half of the global population seems to be an obligatory movement.
P.S.: please, hold off on the pink.