This document summarizes trends in gender roles and relationships in 2011. It discusses how millennials have different views of gender than previous generations. Both men and women are redefining traditional roles at home and in the workplace. While gender stereotypes are breaking down, finding happiness and love remain high priorities for many.

2. #GenderReboot
Exploring All Things Male +
Female in 2011

3. #Millennials+Gender
In 2010, Euro RSCG produced a study on the
state of gender and where men and women are
netting out on today’s gender playing field, with
a proprietary online survey by MicroDialogue.

4. #BreakItDown
• 500 aged 18-25 + 100 aged 40-55 in each
of five markets (n = 3,000)
• Extensive secondary research
• Contributions from Euro RSCG agencies
in Europe and U.S.

5. #TheNewGender
• Millennial daughters don’t understand their
mothers’ feminism
• Women at work post–Norma Rae
• Sex goes SoMe
• The rise of the dad
• It’s a woman’s world—where do men fit in?

6. #GenderFood4Thought
What’s affecting seismic shifts in gender NOW?
• We are living in an age that is acutely digital.
• Thanks to boomers and the sexual revolution, we are more open
about sex and pleasure.
• The baby boomers became parents who cosseted their children—
boys and girls alike—and told them anything is possible.

7. #Stereotypes/Retyped
For the Y Generation, the “wife in the kitchen,
man in the office” ideal is foreign and archaic.
Not only digital natives, today’s men and women
are indigenous members of a gender-remapped
society, where the old rules simply don’t apply.

8. #Stereotypes/Retyped
• Jackie vs. Marilyn is obsolete: A recent
book exploring said icons feels out of touch
in the SoMe female world.
• Women no longer roast chickens!
In a February 2011 article in Aussie Daily Telegraph, it
was noted that 82 percent of female boomers can roast a
chicken like the dickens, while just 51 percent of women
under 30 claim such a skill.
(Source: dailytelegraph.com.au/of-chicks-and-their-chooks/story-fn6bmfwf-1225997663076)

9. #Time4theNewNeutral
Gender is being shaken, not stirred, these
days as we continue to redefine what is going
on with men and women…

10. #11.GENDER.
TRENDS.4.2011

11. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors
• Women R primary or co-breadwinner 4 two-thirds of families.
• Between 1997 and 2007, number of women-owned businesses
increased 44 percent, twice as fast as men-owned firms.
• 40 years ago, women owned 5 percent of small businesses, now they
own 30 percent.
1.
(Source: Jobs and Economic Security for America’s Women, National Economic Council, October 2010)

12. 1. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors
• Look 4 millennial women to say “Thanks, but no thanks” 2 the notion of
“having it all”—i.e., “doing it all.”
• The next gen of workplace superstars aren’t willing 2 sacrifice
everything 4 a paycheck.
• In “The Choice Effect,” penned by 3 young women, note term “choister”:
women overwhelmed by options of career, marriage, children.
• Options R empowering but also lead 2 burnout.
But does all of this “take no prisoners” gender
switch at work come with a price?

13. • You R between the ages of 20 and 40
• You R middle class + college-educated
• You believe the world is your oyster
• You R a job-hopper
• You R a jet-setter
• You shop around 4 Mr. Right
You know you’re a choister if:
1. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors

14. What of the 50-plus set? What happens 2 women
with empty nest syndrome these days?
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: # of women 55-64 in workforce up
10 percent over the last decade.
• Forecasts suggest rapid acceleration in rate as boomer women
become empty nesters, says Disruptive Demographics.
1. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors

15. • Tech
• Biggest tech gazillionaires R still men: Zuckerberg, Brin, Biz Stone.
Time 4 women 2 get involved.
• Tech is an industry that doesn’t require physical strength but mental
athleticism.
• Hollywood
• The celluloid biz is surprisingly female-free: 86 percent of films had
no female writers, 77 percent of film critics R male
• Women show 5x more skin than men in G- to R-rated films. (HuffPost)
#FieldsThatNeedSomeTestosterone
1. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors

16. • Davos
• According 2 the Indian Express, only 16 percent of delegates at
Davos R female.
• World Economic Forum could use a feminine touch.
• Wikipedia
• New York Times article said Wiki entries R decidedly male; barely
13 percent of contributions R penned by women.
• Express yourself, ladies.
#FieldsThatNeedSomeTestosterone
1. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors

17. #Mentrepreneurs
2.
• According 2 a Forbes article from 2009, 78 percent of the jobs lost in
this recession have been lost by men.
• The Atlantic called it a “mancession.”
• We might be headed out of the worst of the economic news 4 the male
gender, but there R still a lot of men w/o work…

18. Though men-centric sectors such as manufacturing
are recovering, more men will strike out on their
own—2 escape being chained to a desk and 2 take
control of their future.
2. #Mentrepreneurs

19. #FieldsThatNeedSomeTestosterone
• White House
• New York Times says we need a man 2B named White House
social director—it would be unprecedented.
• Nursing
• Only 5.8 percent of U.S. registered nurses R men. (US DOHHS)
• Child Care
• Agencies like U.K.’s My BIG Buddy R specializing in male nannies 2
tip scales 2 more masculine model.
• Look 4 more men 2 become caretakers 4 the wee set.
2. #Mentrepreneurs

20. #MenVsWomen
• Why don’t men help women w/those pesky overhead bags anymore?
• (W/new rules in the friendly skies, our bags R more stuffed than ever,
so what gives?)
• If chivalry is dead, then women killed it.
• Thanks 2 Beyoncé generation of strong, independent women +
digital detachment, we can’t look forward 2 opened car door or seat
on the bus.
3.

21. • As women surpass men as No. 1 breadwinners + have more boardroom
chops, men R taking a DIY approach 2 chivalry—as in, there isn’t any.
• Navy Seal–style workouts 4 both genders have men rethinking how
physically strong women R.
• Women have come a long way since “Adam’s Rib”—hip to an era
where double standards R becoming level + neutrality rules.
3. #MenVSWomen

22. #WhatUpW/Marriage?
4.
• More marriages R on the rocks + so is marriage itself, according 2 a
new study by Pew Research Center.
• A survey of 2,691 Americans in association w/Time mag found that
nearly 4 in 10 Americans think marriage is becoming obsolete.
• That’s an 11 percent spike since 1978, when Time asked the same
question. (ABC News)

23. • The median age of first marriages are at highest point ever. For
women: 26.1 years old; for men: 28.2.
• For the first time in half a century, number of unmarried people age
25-34 outnumbers marrieds in same age range. (ABC News)
4. #WhatUpWithMarriage?
According 2 U.S. Census Data, younger people
R not putting a ring on it today, and if they R, they
R doing it when older.

24. • On its home page: “Marriage comes and goes, but divorce is forever.”
• As more women opt 4 single parenthood, look 4 more shakeups in this
once hallowed institution.
The Huffington Post added a divorce site in
November, edited by Nora Ephron, famed author
+ screenwriter.
4. #WhatUpWithMarriage?

25. #GreyDivorce
• In grey divorce, couples may acknowledge failure in the marriage
department but R also looking 4 “Life, Part Two” + a fresh start.
5.
Pandemic of divorce 4 couples over 50,
aptly termed the “grey divorce”—think about
Al and Tipper.

26. • 33 percent (the highest response) said keeping + maintaining a home
was main source of conflict
• 27 percent said partner lacked commitment
• 23 percent cited debts
• 14 percent said ”nagging” led 2 the divorce
• 13 percent met someone else
• 10 percent said they simply ran out of things 2 talk about
• 12 percent of men said stepchildren prompted a breakup
• 4 percent of women cited stepchildren as source of marital friction
(Source: chicagofamilylawyersblog.com)
Key findings from 2010 U.K. Saga Research
survey of 1,900 divorcees over age 50:
5. #GreyDivorce

27. #SexSocialStyle
• 36 percent of people under age 35 admit 2 checking Facebook, texting
or tweeting right after sex.
• Guys are twice as likely as girls 2 engage in after-sex social networking.
• iPhone users R 3x as likely to check Twitter or Facebook in the
afterglow than BlackBerry users.
• Social media has lessened time, money + effort of searching 4 partners
and increased likely success rate.
6.
How is social media affecting sex?

28. • Really want 2 display your prowess? Check in on ijustmadelove.com.
• And speaking of checking in: Foursquare’s Avoidr plug-in allows you 2
label pesky exes so U can avoid going where they R.
• From New York mag article on porn in digital age: “It was inevitable,
once YouTube launched in 2005, that someone would start a porn
equivalent…”
• “Over two months in the summer of 2006, three…sites launched
that would become major adult-only tubes: PornoTube, RedTube and
YouPorn.”
6. #SexSocialStyle

29. #PrincessBacklash
7.
Peggy Orenstein’s new book “Cinderella
Ate My Daughter” is a critique of girls and
“pink princess” culture.

30. • “Role models” like Disney princesses and princesses gone wrong like
Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato?
• Maybe it’s time 4 marketers 2 rethink this inane brand of gender
marketing.
• Is it time 2 teach young girls how 2B powerful w/o a pink powder
puff + tutu?
7. #PrincessBacklash
In the past, being a princess was sold as
empowering, now it feels limiting and too
gender-exclusive.

31. #Arts+Crafts4ModernGirls
With focus on all things digital, look 4 more
women 2 lend modern twist 2 “traditional” female
endeavors like knitting, needlepoint, sewing.
8.
• Success of Etsy (2 million items sold in Nov. 2010, they say) as eBay
of all things hand-tooled shows renewed interest in the homemade.

32. #TheUrbanWoodsman
Is “On Walden Pond: The Movie” being cast?
We can’t help but notice that men from
Manhattan 2 Portland 2 Shoreditch R rocking
beards, boots + flannel.
9.

33. In post-metrosexual world, men R getting in
touch w/wild sides (“wild” meaning outdoorsy +
pastoral).
9. #TheUrbanWoodsman
• American outdoor outfitters like Woolrich R all the rage, w/spendy
outposts at shops like Le Bon Marché in Paris.
• Woodsmen wonders like butchering, woodworking + ice climbing R
all the rage from Bed Stuy 2 Bucktown.
• J. Crew, Timberland + CFDA winner Billy Reid R outfitting woodsy
generation in clothes that feel more fly-fishing chic than urban warrior.
• There is even a Tribeca company creating + selling axes.

34. • Was it Bear Grylls and his not-so-authentic survival show, or a revolt
against too much eye balm + perfect haircuts, à la the metrosexual?
• Needless 2 say, nothing wrong w/men knowing how 2 tie knots or
start a fire. After all, survival skills R needed in this uncertain world.
9. #TheUrbanWoodsman
How did all of this come 2B?

35. #RetailMeetsHetail
10.
• We’re not just talking about Home Depot or Homebase.
• Retailers of brick-and-mortar variety, plus online stores, R catering 2
a new breed of men who actually enjoy shopping.
Behold the “hetail generation.”

36. • Bureau of Labor Statistics: Average guy spends about $1,800 a year
eating out; women spend $1,145.
• Men spend average $701 per year on A/V equipment while women
spend $536.
• Study by Hyperion and PayPal: Men R being converted 2 online
shopping 50 percent faster than women.
• Says AOL: During holiday season, men would spend $326 online while
women would spend $284.
Need proof?
10. #RetailMeetsHetail

37. • Belgium’s Supra-Quintessence Co.: online shop w/bespoke Americana
vibe—think denim motorcycle wallets + vintage Rolexes.
• American stalwart Gant has opened up shop at Yale, located in historic
building 4 the Ivy crowd.
• Jack Spade, at forefront of hetail experience, fosters culture of Spade
fans who can’t get enough of high-end laptop bags + leather goods…
• …in shops filled w/old postcards + fun vintage pieces.
• Uncrate.com is the de facto spot 4 cool men…
• …from headphones 2 performance hoodies 2 groovy gadgets (best
place 2 look 4 gifts 4 men, ladies; you’re welcome).
Best spots 2 get your hetail therapy:
10. #RetailMeetsHetail

38. Note 4 wives + girlfriends: This does not mean
your partners R ready 4 a weekly Saturday jaunt
thru Harvey Nics—this is hetailing after all, and
much progress needs 2B made.
10. #RetailMeetsHetail

39. #DaddyBloggers
11.
• Digital dads R being heard as more men stay home—both as victims of
the recession + as personal choice.
• Make way for male bonding—parent-style.
• Shitmydadsays, Justin Halpern’s Twitter feed featuring quotes
by his dad, has 2 million+ followers.
• Halpern is a media darling (first Twitter account to be turned into a
show on U.S. network television).

40. • Discovering Dad: diet tips + marriage pointers for papas
• Mocha Dad: a blog for African-American dads
• Real Men Drive Minivans: humorous wink at fatherhood + family
road trips
11. #DaddyBloggers
Top daddy blogs

41. • Dad Blogs is a network of fathers that share info on parenting.
• AtHomeDad is the digi encyclopedia 4 stay-at-home dads who want 2
connect w/others.
• Recent Yahoo survey: 51 percent of dads do food shopping in the U.S.
but feel advertising does not speak 2 them.
Dads forming online communities 2 chat w/each
other—R marketers listening? They should B…
11. #DaddyBloggers

42. 11. #DaddyBloggers
Look 4 more influence + power from dads +
daddy bloggers in 2011. As AtHomeDad says,
“Men who change diapers change the world.”

43. #P.S.ILoveU?
• Our survey found the No. 1 goal of today’s millennials is 2B happy +
2B in a happy relationship.
• Finding love is high on the list of wants, B4 career.
• This is not a gender war—it’s a leveling of the playing field + a reboot
of traditional memes.
With the gender gap closing, and men + women
redefining who they R, is there common ground?
The answer is yes + love conquers all.