Nowadays, marketers compete fiercely for every bit of the market pie and conduct elaborate exercises in segmentation to see if they can find a new consumer segment. Therefore, it must have been astounding for them to discover a relatively untapped segment comprising half the worlds population. Women today, have made their mark in every sphere of activity. In the process, they have become empowered, confident and knowledgeable consumers who know what they want, and have the financial independence to buy anything. This article looks at how this transformation came about and what its implications are for the marketers.

In today's world, companies are fiercely contesting every bit of the marketing space available. Just as the explorers, who were always on the look out for new lands and seas, the marketers of today are ceaselessly searching for new segments to market. Therefore, the realization that there was a potentially rich market segment consisting of half the human race, must have aroused emotions in them, similar to those experienced by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, when he first discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513.

There was every reason for their astonishment. The statistics on women in the economy and their influence in purchase decisions, whether in developed economies or in developing economies, show the same trend. Considering the US as the representative of developed economies, we find that women as a market segment, offer vast scope for marketers. Martha Barletta, CEO of the Trendsight Group, a marketing consultancy firm specializing in gender-specific marketing, offers some pertinent statistics in her book, Marketing to Women

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