Older Women's Market Is Sleeping Giant
Professor David Demko, PhD
AgeVenture News Service
Does the worldwide population of older women represent the sleeping economic giant that many industries are seeking to carry their growth into the next quarter century? Maybe so. The way the numbers are crunching, tomorrow's mature market is, in effect, a mature women's market. Here's why.
The number of women worldwide aged 60 and over is expected to more than double between now and 2025 to 645 million. This means that worldwide the number of older women will be nearly twice the projected total population of the United States, according to the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. "We expect that nearly three-quarters of these women will be living in what is known today as the developing world," says Census Bureau analyst Victoria Velkoff.
"In developing countries the challenges faced by older women who generally outnumber older men may become increasingly important as their numbers grow", says Velkoff. Because of faster declines in fertility, developing countries are aging at a much more rapid pace than most developed nations.
The key difference between a "developing" and a "developed" nation is the relative stability of that nation's government and economy. More stability means more economic opportunity. Therefore, this growth represents substantial economic opportunities for industries hoping to meet the needs of the growing mature women's market. Here's how things are shaping-up worldwide with respect to older women.
- Growth in Developing Countries
In at least 75 developing countries, the projected increase in the number of older women between 1997 and 2025 exceeds 150 percent, while in many developed countries the increase is less than 50 percent.
- Growth in Developed Countries
In most developed countries, older women, who currently account for more than 1 in 10 persons, are expected to constitute more than 1in 7 by 2025. In Italy and Japan, it is projected that 1 of 6 people will be a woman 60 and over.
- Life-expectancy Gender Gap
In almost all countries, life expectancy is higher for women than for men. The average gap between the sexes in developing countries is about three years; in developed countries, it is seven. However, in some developed countries (such as Russia, Estonia and Belarus), women outlive men by more than 10 years. Societies will need to find creative ways to provide these long-lived elders with healthy, productive lifestyles that reduce elder dependency, and help elders contribute to society.
- Living Arrangements
In most countries, older women are much more likely to be widowed than older men. For example, 58 percent of Indonesia's women, but only 11 percent of its men, age 60 and over are widowed. We can expect support service needs to increase in direct relation to the increase in this population.
- Literacy Rates
Literacy rates for older women run the gamut, from less than 5 percent in Algeria, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nepal and Sudan to more than 90 percent in Argentina, Italy and the United States. Here lies the greatest opportunity for adult education literacy efforts.
- Women Oldest of Old
Worldwide, women make up a little more than half of the 60-69 age group, but about two-thirds of those are aged 80 or older. These proportions are somewhat higher in developed than in developing countries. Nevertheless, the oldest old, those with the most needs represent the largest market for those industries hoping to provide the goods and services desired by these elders.
Here's the point. Market observers can expect both senior living (well-aged) and eldercare (frail aged) industries to be increasingly attentive to the social, political, and economic needs of older women. In fact, the mature market of the future will, in effect, be a market dominated by the concerns of older women.
Can we expect geometric growth in the many industries that have historically ignored mature women, but now want to court this sleeping consumer giant? That depends. It may take considerable staff development and training to get industry's traditionally deaf ear listening to these new mature consumers.
Schools of business in colleges and universities will need to incorporate senior sensitivity into their curriculum in order to ready the marketplace for this new opportunity. Otherwise, when those 645 million new consumers start knocking at industry's door, that opportunity may be ignored because no one knows how to listen. In that case, there might as well be nobody home when opportunity knocks.
Dave Demko, AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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David Demko reports on lifestyle issues and trends in Aging America.
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