1. Australian women control 72% of the household purchasing decision. This is 8% above the global average of 64%.

2. Australian women make over 60%  of the purchases of digital cameras, PC’s and new cars.

3. Women over 44 years (baby boomers)  have an estimated US$200billion of finance under their control globally.

 4. Australian women starting up businesses from home will be one of the stongest drivers of the Australian economy over the next five years.  

5. In Australia, 40% of all managerial and professional executives are women. In the US this figure is 49%.

 6. Women are rated higher than their male counterparts by bosses, subordinates and peers, not only on ‘soft’ skills, like communication and coaching, but also on a broad range of ‘hard’ skills, like setting standards, planning and decisiveness.

 7. Over 60% of all social media is now driven by women. 53% of women are buying on the internet and 72% are logging on once a day.

 8. The strongest demographic growth on Facebook today is women over 35 years (Gen X and baby boomers).

9. Women say that they don’t want technology to ”suck up” their time as they are too busy.

10. Women are less accepting of male design than they are of design made by women, due to their increased levels of visual literacy.

Last week I saw a company miss a great opportunity to take the lead with women, who we know are hungry to be taken seriously by brands and frustrated that they are not. And, who also control the Australian household budget.

In their 2009 global survey of 12,000 women, titled ‘Women Want More’  The Boston Consulting Group discovered that not only do women hold the power of the purse, but they are dissatisfied with the products and services available to them in many categories, largely because companies misunderstand women’s issues and fail to answer their needs.

But this isn’t news to many, as most women are more than happy to tell you of their dissatisfaction with companies and in particular, of their experiences with consumer electronics retailers. I receive feedback from women on their concerns daily and Saatchi and Saatchi put a line under the subject when its 2007 research showed us that 60% of women leave consumer electronics stores around the world due to the treatment from the  dominant male salesperson.

But despite these alarming pieces of research many companies continue to fete, honour and indulge the male perspective on their businesses rather than seeking the expertise and outlook of women.

Over the past weeks I have watched leading companies rollout new products in the photographic, phone and lucrative home entertainment markets.

But they still seek out male technology writers and bloggers to take their messages to the wider audiences (women).  This occurs despite the reality that women have long dominated the local media and have governed the leading magazine titles in the country. Where were these women who not only know intuitively how to talk to women, but also carry forward a deep legacy of skill?

Where were any of the 100 women bloggers, tweeters and facebookers who attended the monthly Women in Social Media event last week in Sydney?

There is a trite saying that if nothing changes, nothing changes. Well, by continuing to leave women out of the technology story our leading companies are risking not only their reputations but their future viability.

Aussies all love a hero, and Anzac Day on Sunday April 25 makes us remember so many heros who laid down their lives for us to have a better one.

Today, you don’t have to go to war to be recognised as a hero, all you have to do is join the remarkable group of Australian businessmen who have banded together on strategies to lift the representation of women at the corporate level. These include some of your competitors in retail and technology.

The Male Champions of Change are a group of 10 men including CEO’s from some of our largest companies including Telstra, Woolworths and Westpac. They will meet regularly to discuss pay equity, flexible work arrangements and boosting women in management roles.

The group was launched last week and Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek said the initiative was the first of its kind in Australia.

“This level of cooperation between senior executives setting out an agenda for reform is certainly unprecedented, We haven’t seen this kind of leadership from business in the past and it’s a very welcome reform,” she said.

It was the Australian Stock Exchange’s recent call on the top-200 ASX listed companies to lift their game on the issue that has prompted the group’s formation.

Let me know what your company is doing to boost the status of women in the CE industry.

Next Blog: How do you begin to connect her to your business?

Early last week we all gasped when our SOHO Internet connection crashed and the prospect of being disconnected for several days loomed large. That was about the time I was dispatched to the local Supacentre to acquire a wireless broadband modem.

Honestly,the first thought I had was OMG, I have to navigate a CE store for a technology product, am I in the mood? Well mood or no mood, I was compelled to try my luck if I was to fulfill my tweet quota for the day.

This is how the committee in my head was sounding “don’t go to The Good Guys because they have a legal restraint on talking to the media, so what will they do to me if I want to buy a product?”

It continued…”but do I really want to chance it with seemingly overwhelming environment at Harvey Norman…”

It was just about then, at the top of the escalator that the JB store loomed large and it came to me that I could, in fact browse for a movie while I decided on my best course.

That thought was short lived when this bright young man acknowledged me as I walked past his counter and actually asked me if he could help me! Talk about being bowled over, but I grasped opportunity with both hands and blurted out my need. Without hesitation he guided me to the ‘expert’ in that category who then actually took time to listen to me, find what I needed and fill out the forms that registered me as a non-terrorist.

Has JB really being listening to my presentations, columns, tweets, facebooking and endless other conversations I have been making about connecting to women? Perhaps paradigm shifts happen when you least expect them?