Women and the new working environment - Inforum Report Winter 2011

Winter 2011

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publication in
association with:

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2

women survive
the recession
Women are the positive
demographic coming out of this
most recent recession as they
continue to make headway as
entrepreneurs, in advanced
education and earnings.

New challenges come from a rise
in Elder Care responsibilities,
generational workplace
adjustments, the increasing role
TRENDSPOTTING! Elea Blake cosmetics in Chattanooga is
of technology and a need to run by entrepreneur who creates custom beauty
balance it all. products & skin care

a new way of working & living
From the rise in the ‗personal
business‘ segment (a business of
one) to new tools for
communication, the workplace
is changing to be anywhere,
anytime and anyway.

Home is evolving for new ways of
working, office space is
downsizing and remixing, and
new communities are being
developed to include actual
businesses as part of the space.
TRENDSPOTTING! Smallworks laneway homes in Vancouver are garage-sized structures built on the existing lot
of a single-family dwelling to be used by boomerang kids, aging family members, caregivers, or renters

3

gen now women in the workforce
good news!
―There is a bright spot
in American
demographic trends:
single, childless
women in their
twenties who are
much more likely to
graduate from college COALESSE AT NEOCON 2011 ICF GROUP AT NEOCON
than their male As the gender gap continues to close,
counterparts and now office furniture manufacturers and
are earning 108% of designers are deliberately changing
their range of furniture and office items
their male peers‖ to reflect a more feminine aesthetic
James Chung / Research Advisor‘s
Many respondents cite a mobile
device as ―the most important
technology is a technology‖ in their lives

priority Seven of 10 employees have
―friended‖ their managers and
The Cisco Connected World coworkers on Facebook
Study (a survey of 3,000 college students &
Two of five students have not bought
young professionals) revealed that one
a physical book (except textbooks)
in three college students and in two years
young professionals consider the
Most respondents have a Facebook
Internet to be as important as
account and check it at least once
air, water, food, and shelter. a day

4

Gen X - A generation
that is overworked
and under-rewarded
Bloomberg Businessweek

bridging the gap “The fate of Gen X may be
Gen X workers are best positioned to to become the all-important
bridge both the world of the Zoomer traffic cops, assuming
worker and the Gen Now worker.
responsibility for brokering
Some Gen-Xers have surpassed their between the generations on
Zoomer counterparts in the corporate either side of them to keep
hierarchy, finding themselves in an traffic moving along.”
equally awkward position and asking:
"How can I manage someone who is ten
to twenty years older than I am?―
At the same time, Gen-X managers are showing Gen Now the ropes, while often
finding that this younger set values the end product more than they value the time
they spend at the office and that they may not expect to sacrifice their highly
prized work/home-life balance in order to advance their career. Meno Consulting

5

multiple roles
Even with the substantial growing role men have
assumed in household and child caring
responsibilities, women remain the primary
caregivers for children or aging family members,
moving in and out of that role throughout their
lifetimes.

Eldercare is an important issue for Zoomer
women in today's work force as they become 3
Gen caregivers (themselves, adult children and
aging parents). Analysts contend that many
businesses lose valuable production from the
estimated 30 percent of working Americans
who have to contend with the needs of elderly
parents and other relatives.

relevant solutions
New ways of providing solutions to today‘s working mom: Amsterdam-
based Foodzy tracks and rewards healthy and fun eating habits with
badges; element of fun – such as rewards for eating cake on one‘s birthday
or barbecuing multiple meals over the course of the summer, all while
competing against friends if you want.

FOODZY via Springwise

6

the personal business
The ―personal business,‖ which is a new
term to describe a business with no
employees, is growing in numbers and in
economic influence. These businesses
now number roughly 20 million – how to
market to a business of one
INTUIT Sept 2011

Worldwide, there are 820 co-working spaces as
independent professionals and those with
workplace flexibility seek out places for
community and interaction

15-20 million are road warriors/mobile workers
(cars addressing a need for work spaces)

72% check business email outside of work hours
(connected 24/7 to the office – the new norm)

61% often use a computer/laptop at night in bed
(changes in bedroom furniture to address this fact)

By 2015, half of all devices on U.S. corporate SVP MOBILE SYSTEMS
networks will be mobile
(the ability to work anywhere, anytime, anyway)
Mesa del Sol is a 12,900-acre mixed-use district located in
Albuquerque: designed for 100,000 people and as a hub for
creatives, it represents a new concept in communities where
businesses are part of the concept, creating a new ‗4th
workplace‖ (#1 Home; #2 Office; #3 Public Spaces)

7

did you know…?
As employees become
more mobile, the
average amount of
space per employee
nationwide, in all
industries, has dropped to
250 square feet from 400
OFS NEOCON 2011
square feet in 1985.
Small space office Within 10 years, that is
designs, shared spaces expected to drop further,
and flexible spaces
were key at NeoCon to 150 square feet.
2011 – even wirelessly New York Times Jan. 2011

powered furniture
making sitting at any
KI - NEOCON 2011 desk, anywhere a
reality!

On the days that they worked,
24% of employed persons did
some or all of their work at home,
and 83% did some or all of their
work at their workplace
(no difference between men & women)
Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010

With more than 25 billion mobile apps
estimated to be sold in 2011 (versus 10 billion
in 2010), small business apps are the new,
must-have marketing tool IPAD HOLDER / L‘EDITO (MAISON 2011)

8

staying in touch Woman significantly lead men
when it comes to social
networking:
68% of women and 54% of men use
social media to stay in touch with
their friends.
their family.
their coworkers.
REBTEL Sept 2011

early adopters
53% of young women (Gen Y) identified themselves as early
adopters. One researcher noted they are ―the first to try new
technologies, even before they become mainstream.‖ (Adage)
First adult generation with
‗Gender Equality‘: experts
believe that the frequency in
which women are starting to
embrace technology is not all
that surprising, considering social
media sites and other platforms
are more about building
relationships and staying in
touch with others.

9

seeking out uplifting feelings
Women over-index for
consumption of digital news
content, but when it comes to
streaming video, they are more
compelled to seek out
absorbing, entertaining news
content (time-shifted TV, movies,
funny videos). To escape the
stress of the work day, women
turn to surfing, looking at videos cuteroulette.com curates cute videos in a ‗chat roulette‘ style –
you never know what cuteness will appear on your screen!
of cute animals, reading jokes
and other “happy things.” These
A Nielsen study revealed that Internet
online activities balance out
their day and contribute to their use among working women with kids –
overall sense of well-being. a group that might otherwise have the
least available time to spend online –
new services was extremely strong. Moreover,
women aged 35 to 44 had stronger
What creative services can
digital activity – outpacing their
you offer to uplift someone‘s
younger counterparts in this category.
mood? Feeling weighed down
by emotional baggage? A new
web service (secretly a music site)
offers a quick pick-me-up. Simply
upload your drama to Emotional
Bag Check—whether your
burden relates to relationships,
school, or work—and you'll get
advice from a stranger in the
form of a song she hand-picked
to help you cope.
Kraft created an online talk show with the semi-iconic
Soleil Moon Frye (80‘s TV character Punky Brewster).
The web series, titled HerSay, ran weekly featuring Kraft
brands, including Jell-O and Chips Ahoy! The goal of the
show is ―to be a part of conversations‖ that moms are
http://emotionalbagcheck.com having online today. www.hersay.com

10

women-owned small businesses

INTUIT Sept 2011

Women-owed small businesses will generate up to 57% of the
9.72 million small business jobs that the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics expects will be created between 2009 and 2018.

A study conducted by the
U.S. Small Business
Administration examined
characteristics of male and
female small business
owners:

While men had more
experience prior to starting
their business, women were
more likely to have positive
revenues.

Men were more likely to
spend extra effort looking
for business opportunities
and women were more
likely to prefer low-risk
INTUIT Sept 2011
businesses.

11

women in the workforce
Until the mid-1960s, fewer than half of women worked in any
capacity outside of the home. Today, more than 70 percent of
American women are working for wages. (The Hamilton Project)

higher education
Women in the workforce first surpassed
men in obtaining college degrees in 2006
when 34 percent of working women held
INTUIT Sept 2011 bachelor's degrees, compared to 33

then percent of men.

These numbers continue to favor women -
In one out of five
According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau,
married couples, the 37 percent of employed women have a
wife earns more than bachelor's degree or higher, compared to
the husband. That's a 35 percent of men.
huge shift in 40 years,
when this was the case
in just 4 percent of
American marriages.

now a desk designed for laptop bags as seen at
NeoCon 2011 / Steelcase
PEW RESEARCH

12

© 2011 Sphere Trending. All rights reserved. The text, graphics and information (“Content”) provided in this
work are furnished by Sphere Trending for educational and internal research purposes only, in order to give
meaning and dimension to the trends discussed herein. Content may also be subject to the copyright, trademark
and other proprietary rights of third parties. Any use, display, reproduction, publication or preparation of
derivative works incorporating or based upon any Content without prior authorization from Sphere Trending
and/or the applicable third party violates U.S. and foreign copyright laws. Without limitation, reproduction or
publication include, color or non-color photocopying, printing, scanning, faxing, and mail, email or Internet
posting or distribution of any such Content.


Women and the new working environment - Inforum Report Winter 2011

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Women and the new working environment - Inforum Report Winter 2011