Why She Buys by Bridget Brennan Page A

world. Urban women in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, and India are altering the consumer landscape with their paychecks. Conversely, the lack of women’s participation in many Middle Eastern economies is one of the factors holding these countries back. They have yet to unleash the energy and intellectual contributions of half of their population.
    More Paychecks Equal More Disposable Income
    O NE of Goldman Sachs’ finest minds on the subject, Kevin Daly, has a compelling analysis:
As the male-female employment gap closes, female disposable income growth will surpass male income growth … the relative rise in female affluence is also likely to result in a shift in consumption patterns; a shift that is likely to be most notable as female incomes exceed the level required to acquire essential goods and services, and rise to the point where a significant proportion of income can be spent on discretionary goods . 11
    In other words, working women don’t just earn money, they spend it. Based on the labor force data, women are now (and will continue to be for the foreseeable future), the bull’s-eye for consumer goods manufacturers. This is a particularly valuable insight for multinational companies trying to penetrate and grow in emerging markets. Studying the female labor-force participation trends in countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China can help provide a road map to how women’s daily lives are changing and what it means in terms of economic opportunity for your business.
    The Working Mother: Do You Know Her?
    W ORKING moms are everywhere, and yet the reality of their lives is unknown to many of the colleagues who toil alongside them. This is because, generally speaking, women try to make the work-life balance look easy (which it isn’t) anddon’t want to be viewed as less committed at work by talking at length about family responsibilities. The situation is different for their male colleagues. When men have children, it often enhances their status at work. They’re viewed as being more committed to the job because they have a family depending on their paycheck. Marriage and children make a man appear stable and responsible; this usually helps him get ahead. Even today, it’s hard to run for a major political office or to make it as a CEO of a big company as a single man.
    When women have children, it can have the opposite effect. The perception at work is that a woman’s family responsibilities will be a distraction. Employers know that a woman may need time off when her child gets sick or when she has babysitting issues. In many countries, it’s assumed that a woman’s working life is over with her first pregnancy. Though some companies are genuinely working hard to create more family-friendly and female-friendly work environments, women are still aware that motherhood isn’t considered an asset in most careers. They’re also conscious that child-related absences may create additional work for their colleagues, which is just one reason that the tension between family and career can be stressful.
    When men take time off work to do something with their children, they’re often seen as noble, because they’re pitching in with parenthood and being good dads. Women do not receive the same reflected glory. A midlevel executive named Melanie told me this story:
One of our big bosses at work has a sick wife. He told us last week that she has stage IV cancer and not much longer to live. He has two young kids. This is a tragic situation, but I couldn’t help but notice the reaction he’s gotten from all the men in the office. They’re all standing in doorways whispering, “How is Mike going to handle the kids? How is he going to get them to school and pick them up, take care of them when they’re sick, and still do his job?” And so on and so on .
The ironic part is that these conversations are taking place in the hallways, where all of us women can hear them. Most of us are mothers, and