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Global Consumer Trends: Gender Complexity

Datamonitor
August 17, 2009
SKU: DFMN2421675

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Countries covered: Global

Introduction

The Gender Complexity Mega-Trend reflects that traditional gender roles are becoming increasingly blurred. Males are exhibiting more feminine traits in their attitudes and behaviors, while empowered females are breaking out beyond gender stereotypes. However, gender complexity also reflects how the shift in gender roles is not totally prescriptive: both genders' values are diverse and complex

Scope

Detailed trend analysis outlining what constitutes 'value' for consumers (trends are, after all, a reflection of what's important to consumers)
Global in focus, but also offers country-by-country and sector insights thereby catering to top-line or more specific information needs
Covers all major FMCG sectors, but also with applicability to wider consumer goods audiences
One of 10 dedicated mega-trend reports outlining the most important issues shaping global consumers' buying behavior both now and in the future

Highlights

Good trend-watching is about taking the bigger-picture approach. Adopting a broader global perspective to trend-tracking facilitates better decision making by overcoming 'category myopia'. Monitoring the broader FMCG environment will enable bigger picture learning that can be applied more specifically
Gender Complexity is founded on the contrast between the rise of feminine values and attitudes among men and a contrasting but prevailing ""boys will be boys"" mentality. Seemingly dichotomous, these are not mutually exclusive. Pragmatic male consumers base their attitudes and behaviors on 'cherry-picking' elements of both value systems as required
Womens' growth as individuals in the workplace and rapidly rising sense of independence and individualism has left them grappling with the tension between modern and traditional roles. This role consciousness means that they are torn between embracing more individualistic feminization and more traditional caring, gatekeeper roles in the family unit

Reasons to Purchase

Understand the significance of the different gender-aligned trends across territories and FMCG sectors to help support market diversification plans
Save time and gain maximal insight by using this 'one-stop-shop' resource which offers a clear and up-to-date framework for understanding consumers
Access data from two waves of global primary research to increase the likelihood of being 'on-trend' with NPD and marketing activities

Overview: Catalyst; Summary; Table of Contents; Table of figures
INTRODUCTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF TREND-TRACKING: Tracking consumer mega-trends is fundamental to long-term success; Trend-tracking insight 1: mega-trends can be classified in two ways according to desirable benefits and societal complexities; Trend-tracking insight 2: trends are aligned with pre-existing, but evolving human values, attitudes, needs and behaviors; Trend-tracking insight 3: mega-trends can be broken down into trends and sub-trends highlighting that trend frameworks provide structure and clarity at a time of 'information overload'; Trend-tracking insight 4: manufacturers, retailers and researchers/futurologists perpetuate trends; Trend-tracking insight 5: adopting a broader, global perspective to trend-tracking facilitates better decision making by overcoming 'category myopia'; Trend-tracking insight 6: trends have longer-term implications than fads and can be categorized by evolvement; Trend-tracking insight 7: for every trend there is a 'counter-trend' while 'trend-crossover' is also and important phenomena; Takeouts and implications: a trend framework boosts the quality and frequency of insight generation ensuring maximum return from the broader market research processes in place
THE FUTURE DECODED: DECIPERING THE GENDER COMPLEXITY MEGA-TREND: MEGA-TREND SYNOPSIS: GENDER ROLES IN MODERN SOCIETY ARE LESS CLEAR CUT, BREEDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN THE CPG SPACE; TREND: Hybrid traditionalism: male consumers values are characterized by an amalgam of both masculine traditionalism and feminized modernity; SUB-TREND: Embracing feminized values: males are becoming more aware and proactive towards their wellness needs; In Europe, male concerns for wellness issues closely follow those exhibited by their female peers; Males in the Americas are taking health and wellness issues seriously; Asia Pacific males closely mirror female attitudes and behaviors over health and wellness issues; While Middle Eastern men are now more aware of their wellness needs they are not necessarily embracing feminized values in the process; Key takeouts and implications: male consumers share similar attitudes and behaviors to their female peers in relation to wellness issues; SUB-TREND: Embracing feminized values: males are embracing appearance consciousness; Appearance consciousness is a significant factor affecting male behaviors across Europe; Attitudes towards appearance vary greatly between US males and their more openly feminized Brazilian peers; Differing cultural values mean that men in Asia Pacific are less image focused than their female counterparts and their male peers internationally; UAE and Saudi males embrace appearance consciousness but do so with little threat to their sense of masculinity; Key takeouts and implications: the commercialization of beauty now influences males as well as females' attitudes and consumption habits; SUB-TREND: The 'retrosexual': traditional machismo still resonates in the face of the feminization of society; Key takeouts and implications: The traditional masculinity associated with retrosexualism still has relevance for mainstream male consumers; SUB-TREND: The majority of male consumers are pragmatic, combining elements of traditional masculinity and the modern feminized values; Key takeouts and implications: Marketers must avoid excluding the male majority through myopic focus on conveniently tagged small sub-groups of male consumers; TREND: Female consumers are emancipated and empowered but still play out traditional gender roles; SUB-TREND: Females are expressing their independence, both at work and play; Women in Europe want to experience more satisfying leisure time, while performing to their potential at work; Women in the Americas, especially in emerging markets, are keen to seek out new challenges in life; Asia Pacific women are seeking more independence and new opportunities; Saudi and UAE women want, and are achieving, greater independence; Key takeouts and implications: Independent females can be targeted based on their experimental consumerism and convenience needs; SUB-TREND: Traditional female gender roles remain established elements of consumption behavior; Women remain predominantly in charge of domestic duties in Europe; Female domestic roles in the Americas reflect the clash between traditionalism and modern time pressures; Traditional gender roles retain significant importance in the Asia Pacific region in terms of both genders' expectations of the other; Traditional female gender roles are common in the Middle East; Key takeouts and implications: Marketers must meet the needs of traditional female roles with products providing shortcuts; TREND: Polarized gender values and attitudes are leading to a trend of 'role anxiety'; SUB-TREND: work-life pressures and stress are issues crossing gender boundaries; Europeans of both genders struggle with their work-life balance commitments; In the Americas, the emerging market consumers of Brazil are taking more decisive action to address their work-life balance issues than US consumers; In Asia Pacific, the experience of Chinese and Indian consumers starkly contrasts both genders in Japan; Stress issues are not as likely to cross gender boundaries in the Middle East; Key takeouts and implications: common work-life balance problems reflects the coalescing of male and female experiences inside and outside the home; SUB-TREND: Modern parenting roles and professional lives have blurred traditional gender responsibilities; European mothers are content with their family life but rate work highly; Gender responsibilities in the Americas have shifted to close the gap between men and women; Asia Pacific consumers are experiencing some changes to the gender role dynamic as strong, persistent traditional family values meet with modern influences; Gender responsibilities with regard to work and family remain more well-defined in the Middle East; Key takeouts and implications: Marketers face greater cross-over and ambiguity between males and females that affects preconceived ideas of gender targeting
APPENDIX: Definitions; Methodology; Further reading and references; Ask the analyst; Datamonitor consulting; Disclaimer
List of Figures: Figure 1: Datamonitor's mega-trends are having a long-term and substantive impact on the marketing landscape and can be grouped into two categories; Figure 2: Consumer behavior and the innovations targeting it inevitably fit into a 'trend hierarchy'; Figure 3: Trend tracking can be a source of (comparative) competitive analysis; Figure 4: Datamonitor's mega-trend framework helps set the agenda for the specific topics covered in the New Consumer Insight (NCI) research stream; Figure 5: Trend development is dictated by both 'consumer pull' and 'manufacturer push' and Datamonitor offers the intelligence tools to capitalize on this reaity; Figure 6: In a consumerist global culture, the broad consumption spheres/segments transcend borders; Figure 7: Several factors distinguish a trend from a fad; Figure 8: The diversification and increased overlap of consumers' gender roles underpins the Gender Complexity mega-trend; Figure 9: The majority of males are comfortable combining macho and feminine elements into their attitudes and consumption behaviors; Figure 10: The majority of European males are satisfied with their health in general; Figure 11: Europeans are generally placing more importance on their health than in the past; Figure 12: European males show above average levels of satisfaction with the nutritional quality of their diets; Figure 13: Male dieting is strongest in the more feminized male cultures of southern Europe; Figure 14: European males are more likely than the global average to be taking conscious measures to eat healthily; Figure 15: Russian and Swedish men are the least likely in Europe to place importance on exercise; Figure 16: UK female respondents were the least satisfied with their fitness levels in Europe; Figure 17: Attitudes to health vary by gender in both North and South America; Figure 18: Improving health has increased in importance to both men and women in the Americas; Figure 19: Men in the Americas were more likely to be satisfied with the nutritional content of their diet; Figure 20: Women are more likely than men to follow a specific diet plan; Figure 21: Women are more likely than men to be eating healthily most of the time; Figure 22: In the Americas, exercise is slightly more important to women than men in creating a sense of wellbeing; Figure 23: Men in the Americas were more likely than women in the region to profess satisfaction with their level of physical fitness; Figure 24: Indians are the most satisfied with their health in Asia Pacific; Figure 25: Indian males are particularly focused on improving their health; Figure 26: Indian males are the consumers most satisfied with their diets in Asia Pacific; Figure 27: Indian males are the most committed globally to following specific diet plans; Figure 28: Japanese males are the least likely to make regular attempts to eat healthily in Asia Pacific; Figure 29: Indians are the most satisfied with their levels of fitness in Asia Pacific; Figure 30: Exercising is considered important by the majority of Asia Pacific consumers; Figure 31: Saudi females are more satisfied about their general health then Saudi men; Figure 32: UAE men have attached more importance to maintaining or improving their health then UAE women over the last two years; Figure 33: Middle Eastern males exhibit higher satisfaction with the nutritional quality of their diet, a trend associated with their high rates of dieting and proactive attempts to eat healthily; Figure 34: Males in the Middle East exhibit above average adherence to diet plans; Figure 35: Both UAE and Saudi men are making more of an effort to eat healthily then UAE and Saudi women; Figure 36: Saudi males express a below average satisfaction with their physical fitness; Figure 37: European men are more satisfied with their body than women; Figure 38: European males are more satisfied with their personal appearance than females, explaining why greater female proactivity on appearance issues remains the norm; Figure 39: Around half of male Europeans place importance on feeling physically attractive; Figure 40: Looking good in day-to-day life is of varying importance to European males by nationality; Figure 41: The belief in the relationship between attractiveness and success in life is widely held amongst Europeans of both genders; Figure 42: European males are still demonstrating an attitude-behavior gap in taking active measures to improve their appearance compared to females; Figure 43: Fragrance use among European males correlates to the extent of male comfort with and uptake of feminized values; Figure 44: In the Americas, men were more likely than women to be satisfied with their own body shape; Figure 45: Men were slightly more satisfied than women with their own physical attractiveness; Figure 46: Women in the Americas are more likely than men to value feeling physically attractive as important in contributing to wellbeing; Figure 47: Women are more likely than men to find it important to look their best in day-to-day life; Figure 48: Majorities of both genders in the Americas view attractiveness as a driver in success/opportunities in life; Figure 49: Brazilian males are well above the global (and US) average for increasing time spend on personal appearance; Figure 50: Brazilians are very open to fragrance usage, contrasting their US counterparts; Figure 51: Both genders of Japanese consumers are unsatisfied with their body weight; Figure 52: Indians are much more satisfied with their appearance than the Japanese; Figure 53: Indian females are the most conscious of their attractiveness; Figure 54: Females in Asia Pacific are more concerned about looking good than males, particularly in China; Figure 55: The equation of attractiveness with success in Asia is most acutely pressuring Chinese and Japanese women; Figure 56: Both male and female respondents in India are concentrating more on looking good; Figure 57: Australian and Indian males are the most open to the use of fragrances, contrasting the cultures of China, Japan and South Korea; Figure 58: Saudi and UAE men are significantly happier with personal body weight and shape than their respective female counterparts; Figure 59: Male satisfaction with appearance with well above the global average in the Gulf; Figure 60: Middle Eastern men attach above average importance to looking good in day-to-day life; Figure 61: Belief in the association between attractiveness and success in the Gulf is on a par with the global average; Figure 62: UAE and Saudi men believe using fragrance products is important; Figure 63: Retrosexual advertising: Snickers ""Get Some Nuts"" campaign channels humorous depictions of the loss of masculinity and positions the product as the antidote; Figure 64: The majority of males are pragmatic, their attitudes and behaviors built on elements of both metro- and retrosexuality; Figure 65: Mini case study: The Bulldog brand is designed to appeal to masculine tastes, without being overtly feminine; Figure 66: Empowered female consumers still play out traditional female roles; Figure 67: Females globally are deciding their goals in life to a similar extent to males; Figure 68: Full time employment is the dominant working status for European females; Figure 69: Women are marginally more likely to find new life sensations important than men in Europe; Figure 70: Spanish women are more likely than males to have recently sought more sensations in life; Figure 71: While occupational success is important to European women, few feel they have achieved success in the workplace; Figure 72: Self expression is important to the majority of European women; Figure 73: Spanish females have particularly become leisure time maximizers in the past two years; Figure 74: Full time employment among women is high in the Americas, although homemaking is above average in the US; Figure 75: Brazilian women stand out regionally in their strong desire to seek new challenges and experiences; Figure 76: Brazilian women have been particularly proactive in the last two years in seeking new challenges and experiences; Figure 77: While women in the Americas consider occupational success as an important factor in their wellbeing, they are much less likely to express satisfaction with this area of their lives; Figure 78: Individuality and self-expression are more important to women than men in the Americas; Figure 79: The desire to maximize leisure time highlights the cultural difference between the work-focused US and Brazil; Figure 80: China has a highly emancipated female workforce compared to other countries in the Asia Pacific region; Figure 81: Both genders in the emergent Asia Pacific markets place much importance on sensation-seeking; Figure 82: Males in Asia Pacific have a greater increased focus on seeking new challenges; Figure 83: Women in Asia Pacific see work as essential to wellbeing but in contrast their satisfaction levels are low; Figure 84: Females value self expression slightly more than males in Asia Pacific; Figure 85: Japanese consumers stand out through their lower commitment to maximizing leisure time; Figure 86: Tradition and the gender divide within the workplace remains clear in the Middle East, although females in the UAE have a solid presence within full time employment; Figure 87: Over the last two years Saudi and UAE women have begun to attach much more importance to seeking new challenges and life experiences; Figure 88: Saudi women are unhappy about their level of occupational success; Figure 89: Average daily time-spend on all household tasks* (hours), by gender, in Europe, US and Asia Pacific, by country, 2007; Figure 90: Daily time spent on food preparation and consumption, (hours), by gender, in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific, 2007; Figure 91: Over 40% of females globally see being a housewife as unfulfilling; Figure 92: Women were more likely to cook meals from scratch than men in Europe in 2008; Figure 93: The recession has impacted peoples' home cooking trends, but women still cook more often; Figure 94: A small but significant proportion of women eat regularly on the go in Europe; Figure 95: A high proportion of European women do not like doing the housework; Figure 96: Many women in Europe look to minimize the time they spend doing housework; Figure 97: Italian women are particularly keen on getting someone else to do their housework; Figure 98: In 2008, women in the Americas cooked evening meals from scratch more often than men; Figure 99: The gender gap in scratch-cooking behaviors increased further in 2009; Figure 100: Regularly eating meals on-the-go is twice as common among Brazilian females than their US counterparts; Figure 101: Housework is disliked by around half of all consumers in the US and Brazil; Figure 102: The desire to minimize the amount of time spent on housework is particularly high among women in Brazil; Figure 103: Brazilian women, facing more labor-intensive housework than their US peers, are very enthusiastic about paying someone else to perform housework duties; Figure 104: Women predominantly cook home meals more than men in Asia Pacific; Figure 105: The recession has impacted the frequency rates of male and female home cooking in Asia Pacific; Figure 106: On the go meal consumption is particularly frequent among Indian females based on rising work-life balance pressures; Figure 107: Housework is not an enjoyable task for many females in Asia Pacific, especially Australians and Japanese; Figure 108: South Korean females are particularly keen on housework minimization; Figure 109: Many Indians of both genders would consider paying someone else to do the housework; Figure 110: Women do more of the cooking in the UAE and Saudi; Figure 111: Gulf region men are more likely to eat more regularly on the go; Figure 112: Role Anxiety a consequence of increased ambiguity over males and females' gender identity; Figure 113: Both genders globally place more importance on work than leisure time; Figure 114: Females in Europe have made greater efforts to improve work-life balance than males; Figure 115: More men than women believe their work-life balances have improved; Figure 116: Europeans are less optimistic than the global average about work-life improvements; Figure 117: Males have seen slightly more improvement to their stress levels than females in Europe; Figure 118: The majority of Europeans believe stress levels will not improve in the near future; Figure 119: Like work-life balance, females in Europe have been more proactive in taking steps to reduce stress in their lives; Figure 120: Both men and women in the Americas are looking to improve their work-life balance; Figure 121: Men were slightly more likely to claim their work-life balance had improved; Figure 122: Some optimism over work-life balance in the near future exists among consumers in the Americas; Figure 123: Men were slightly more likely than women in the Americas to have experienced reduced stress levels in the previous six months; Figure 124: Optimism for the reduction of stress levels in the near future in Brazil eclipses that in the US; Figure 125: US males have been less decisive compared to US females and Brazilians in proactively addressing stress; Figure 126: Consumers in India and China had made the most attempts to improve work-life balances; Figure 127: Males consumers in Asia Pacific believe they have achieved greater success in addressing their work-life balance than women; Figure 128: Chinese and Indian consumers are the most optimistic about future improvements to their work-life balance; Figure 129: Chinese and Indians were more optimistic than other consumers in seeing stress level improvements; Figure 130: Japanese consumers are the least optimistic about whether their stress levels will improve in future; Figure 131: Males and females in the Asia Pacific region have taken similar steps to reduce their stress levels; Figure 132: Saudi and UAE men were more likely to indicate that their work life-balance had improved over the last six months; Figure 133: Middle Eastern men and women are equally optimistic about their future work-life balance outlook; Figure 134: UAE women are most likely to indicate that daily stress levels have actually abated over the last six months; Figure 135: Regional women generally expect their levels of daily stress to reduce over the next six months; Figure 136: Both genders place overwhelming value of the importance of family in their lives; Figure 137: Men and women globally look positively on changes that give them more emphasis on their family life in the future; Figure 138: However, less emphasis on work is seen negatively by men and women equally, clashing with their desire for more family time; Figure 139: Russian consumers of both genders are less satisfied with their family life than other Europeans; Figure 140: Spanish females are particularly finding it more important to spend time with friends and family; Figure 141: Russians are the least satisfied with the time they get to spend with their children; Figure 142: US satisfaction with family life is above the global average in the US; Figure 143: The importance of spending time with friends and family has increased for many consumers in the Americas against the backdrop of recession; Figure 144: Women are more likely to be satisfied with the amount of time spent with children; Figure 145: Indians of both genders are the most satisfied with their family life in Asia Pacific; Figure 146: Japanese have changed the least in regards to valuing spending time with friends and family; Figure 147: Women tend to be more satisfied than men over time spent with their children in Asia Pacific; Figure 148: Gulf consumers, especially men, are satisfied with their family lives; Figure 149: Gulf women are increasingly prioritizing spending time with family and friends; Figure 150: Gulf women are noticeably more satisfied than men with the amount of time spent with their children; Figure 151: There are differences between consumer values and attitudes

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