Abstract
This report examines the attitudes, behaviors and spending habits of high-income women, a group that continues to gain influence over many lifestyle and purchase decisions. Mintel analyzes its proprietary consumer research and Simmons' National Consumer Survey to explore high-income women' s attitudes toward money and investments, shopping, leisure activities, advertising and media.
Mintel defines professional women or high-income women as those who earn $75,000 or more annually. This report compares and contrasts professional women with all women to illustrate how their attitudes and behaviors differ.
Mintel' s research will tell you how high-income women regard family life, deal with their finances, and think about shopping. It also gauges the receptivity of high-income women to various forms of advertising and media, and finds out how this group spends their leisure time. These insights are a crucial part of understanding what motivates these consumers.
Accounting for 4% (or about 5.2 million) of U.S. women 15 years and older, high-income women are well educated, work full time, and are responsible for the majority of household purchasing decisions. The majority of high-income women are married or divorced, and the share of women who earn more than their husbands is growing exponentially. The share of all women (not just high-income women) who earn more than their husbands has increased 58.3% between 1987 and 2004. Women are earning the majority of post-secondary degrees and will continue to earn these degrees at a faster rate then men. Their greater educational attainment will fuel growth in personal earnings and, in turn, purchasing power. Although high-income women will remain a small percentage of all women who work full time, their influence over purchases (and their willingness to spend and invest money) should not be underestimated.
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