Dana Thorat Research Manager

1
Title

• Dana ThoratResearch Manager
• Clients Mobility Primary Research
• IDC

Making Technology Work for Women
Results from a April 2005 survey of WITI members
tech-savvy women
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Agenda

• Background
• Objectives
• Methodology
• Respondent profile
• Technology usage
• Computing, mobile, entertainment
• Household members as influencers
• Importance of technologies
• Attitudes and preferences
• Product design and product features
• Customer needs and product support
• Product marketing and distribution
• Attitudes about mobility
• Benefit perceptions/Impact on respondents lives
• Summary A new understanding about women and
  technology

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Background
4
Survey Objectives

• Gain more insight about the technology usage of
  tech-savvy women
• Better understand their attitudes about using IT
  products and services (including product
  features, marketing, customer support, etc.)
• Identify impact of mobile technologies on their
  lives
• Identify their key technology issues and pain
  points

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Methodology

• Methodology
• Web-based survey
• Invited current and former WITI members, WITIs
  affiliate members, and other tech-savvy women
• Conducted in March-April 2005
• 2,451 completed responses all women (except 15
  men, who were excluded from our analysis)
• Comparison groups by
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Household size (children/no children)
• Household income
• Sample not representative, but reflective, of
  tech-savvy women

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Respondent Profile
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Educated and Professional

• 94.2 U.S. respondents
• Average age 42 (range from 20 - 80 yrs. old)
• 87 college educated (41 graduate degrees)
• 96.6 employed (18.1 self-employed)
• Professional roles
• 15.5 VP and above
• 19.9 managers/directors
• 13.5 business staff
• 32.3 IS/IT (management or staff)

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Respondent Household Size
Children 34
No Children 66

• Size of household
• Mean 3.67 people
• Median 3.0 people

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Respondent Annual Household Income
n 2,451
100
No answer 26.4
90
80
70
60
50
40
21.5
30
18.9
13.6
20
7.7
5.5
4.0
2.5
10
0
30,000 or less
30,001 to 45,000
45,001 to 60,000
60,001 to 75,000
75,001 to 100,000
100,001 to 150,000
More than 150,000
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Technology Usage
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Respondent Computing and Mobile Usage HH with
Children vs. HH without Children
Technology used by respondent in last 12 months
of respondents
n 821
n 1,630
Denotes significant difference
12
Respondent Entertainment Technology Usage HH
with Children vs. HH without Children
Technology used by respondent in last 12 months
of respondents
n 821
n 1,630
Denotes significant difference
13
Cell Phones and Home Networks More Important for
Respondents with Children
Q Please rate the following devices in terms of
their importance to you in your daily life
Mean importance rating
Essential mobility
Home computing
Additional mobility
Scale 1 not at all important 10 very
important Denotes significant difference
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Attitudes and Preferences
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Product Design/Product Features Attitudes
n 2,426
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Customer Needs/Product Support Attitudes
n 2,426
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On Customer Needs
f ease of use and getting up and running is
foremost. We have no time to play with the
technology (like most men do), have no time to
troubleshoot (like most men will do for hours),
and no time to waste on it breaking down on us f
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Product Marketing/Distribution Attitudes
n 2,426
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on Technology Marketing
f Being female is only a small part of who I
am so I don't want or expect or respond to
marketing that is targeted just to women... focus
less on me as a woman and more on me as a
professional, traveler, golfer, educator,
mentor. It's the individual, not the gender,
that is the buyer.
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Attitudes about Technology Trends
I am willing to pay a premium for a trustworthy
brand
74.9
Technology products are becoming obsolete too fast
64.1
Having the latest technology is important to me
52.0
More feminine style choices (i.e., sizes, colors
and designs) are needed
37.6
Technology is generally unreliable
12.8
n 2,426
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on Technology Styles
f I HATE the idea of creating technology in
"feminine" colors. I don't want PINK. I am
attracted to bold colors that may even be the
same for men. For me it is about the sleek design
and the style. f
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Mobile Technology Attitudes, by Age
Mean agreement score
1 Strongly disagree 5 Strongly agree
Total
30 - 39
40 - 49
50
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Mobile Technology Attitudes, by Age (contd)
Mean agreement score
1 Strongly disagree 5 Strongly agree
Total
30 - 39
40 - 49
50
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Summary and Conclusions
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A New Understanding about Women and Technology

• Early majority of female tech adopters span
  demographic segments
• Households with children important life stage
  for adoption of
• Cell phones
• Computing/broadband/home networks
• Entertainment devices and services
• Issues/perceptions
• Women want the latest technologies, but they also
  perceive that technology is becoming obsolete too
  fast
• Females are pragmatic not feature creatures!
• They want technology to be up and running fastno
  time or patience to play with it or troubleshoot
• Needs not addressed
• Product appeal/user friendliness
• Retail/customer support
• Marketing

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on Change
f I have just always accepted what is available
on the market. we shouldn't just have to accept
whatever is out there.
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Questions?
Please email me at dthorat_at_idc.com