Women and Luxury Buying Habits from "My Car My Life"
If the above title seems a bit nautical, you’re right. We’re going to talk boats for a few minutes.
Wait a minute! Isn’t this an automobile-themed blog? Technically…but since boats are the “cars of water”, we’re not so far from the dock that we need a pair of those water-wingy things around our upper arms.
We’re talking women and boats because there’s something to say – and celebrate – regarding their relationship. Boat and yacht sales people are recognizing that women are having more and more influence and impact on their sales, and we’re not talking design and décor issues. More and more women are becoming boat owners.
A look at the overall statistics regarding the economic empowerment of women over the past 4-5 decades says its only natural:
• In the 1970’s, the US workforce was 38% women
• In the 2000s, 50% of the jobs were held by women
• In the 2008/9 recession, 80% of the job losses were suffered by men
• The 2009 unemployment rate shows 11.2% for men, 8.6% for women
• Women hold 2/3rds of the jobs in 10 of the 15 fastest growing fields
• Since 2000, twice as many companies have been created by women than by men
• 40% of college women are studying business (in 1960, it was 2%)
So what does all this mean? The next time you hear someone shout, “Hey, Skipper!” in the direction of that shapely and cut, bikini-clad bronzed goddess laying in the rays of a tropical sun on the bow lounge of a 65’ cabin cruiser, they aren’t calling out to Barbie’s little sister….