The Power of the Purse
by Fara Warner

• Women and Money - Women account for more than 50% of all stock ownership in the United States. By 2010, women will account for half of the private wealth in the country, or about 14 trillion. By 2020, you can expect the number to reach 22 trillion as wealth continues to shift from men to women.
• Women and consumer and business spending - Women control $7 trillion in consumer and business spending. They are responsible for or buy 94% of home furnishings, 91% of house purchases, 60% of cars and trucks, and 50% business travel.
• Women and work - Women-owned businesses employ more people in the United States than the Fortune 500 companies employ. Today, women-owned businesses account for 33% of all firms in the country.
• Women and education - In 2002, women earned 57% of the B.A.s awarded in the United States. In graduate programs, women now make up 49% of law school and 50% of medical school attendees.
• Women and social norms - 60% of adult women in America work outside the home, up from about 30% in 1955. In 1955, 80% of Americans lived in a traditional nuclear family, in 2003, only 50% of Americans lived in that traditional social structure. 30% of married women now out-earn their husbands; on top of that, there are now 46 million American women who are divorced or widowed, or who never married.
• Women and Technology - In 2003, women surpassed men as the majority users of the internet. In 2004, women surpassed men as the primary consumers of electronic equipment, including computers, cameras and personal digital assistants.