Company Press Release
Women Worldwide Agree That Financial Independence is Key to a Better Life, According to 2000 Avon Global Women’s Survey
Avon Survey Also Reveals that Support of Spouse/Domestic Partner is Leading Factor in Making it Easier for Women to Start Own Business
NEW YORK — Women worldwide believe the top factors that would most improve their lives in the new millennium include financial independence, having equal job opportunities with men and the ability to start one’s own business, according to the 2000 Avon Global Women’s Survey.
Conducted during early Spring 2000, the Avon Global Women’s Survey polled 30,000 women in 33 countries around the globe on issues ranging from women in business and life challenges to beauty, health and fitness. The three financial/business issues were each cited by some one-third or more of all respondents as top issues. The exception is North American women, for whom more free time is reported as the number one way to improve their lives. Also revealed are the three changes believed to be least likely to improve women’s lives: easier access to divorce (2%), more sexual freedom (4%) and greater protection from sexual harassment (7%).
According to the Avon survey, while women worldwide yearn for financial independence and the opportunity to start their own business, the leading factor that would facilitate becoming an entrepreneur is the support of a spouse or domestic partner (44%), not role models (10%), better computer skills (15%) or mentors (16%). The second and third factors to enable entrepreneurship globally are more self-confidence and a large network of personal contacts, with about one-third of women citing each. This differs for North American women (Canada and the U.S.), who say the second and third factors easing business ownership are more business management training and easier access to credit/banks, which is perhaps due to the mature business environment for women in North America.
“What is extremely compelling about the results of the 2000 Avon Global Women’s Survey, but perhaps not surprising, is how the personal and professional lives of women are invariably linked,” said Susan J. Kropf, Chief Operating Officer, Avon North America and Global Business Operations. “Financial independence is the leading influence — and goal — in women’s lives worldwide. At the same time, we find that a supportive spouse or partner plays a dominant role in a woman’s life when it comes to developing the entrepreneurial business that can bring about financial empowerment.”
The Avon survey revealed, notably, women around the world believe that working women are valued more than stay-at-home spouses. They feel husbands or partners of working women are more likely to show them respect (84%), ask their advice about personal (82%) and financial (86%) matters, and offer assistance with household duties and child care (81-83%). While this fact is encouraging, regional differences still reflect an imbalance among working men and women. Women in North America, as well as Latin/South/Central America and Eastern/Central Europe, believe that many husbands or partners of working women still feel threatened by their independence (34-44% by region) and resent the time spent away from the family (40-47%). Even more striking in the Asia-Pacific region, nearly half of all women believe a husband/partner would expect the working woman to hand over her earnings to her male partner.
Globally, women see little difference between men’s and women’s leadership styles in terms of profit-orientation, competitiveness, vision, decisiveness and controlling nature, but, perhaps not surprisingly, women perceive female leaders to be more organized (67%), communicative (65%), creative (62%) and people-oriented (54%) than male leaders. Conversely, women consider themselves less likely to take risks, be aggressive and be egotistical relative to male leaders. In Latin/South/Central America, however, women perceive their female leaders to be more aggressive and risk-taking than men.
While women feel the support of their husbands or partners is critical, they also consider themselves to have better than average self-esteem. Therefore, it appears that they are not simply seeking “approval” from their male partner, but a shared sense of vision and partnership. The survey revealed that nearly all of women worldwide consider themselves to have “medium” or “high” self-esteem, with only 4% reporting that they have low self-esteem. Notably, at 7%, North American and Western European women each have a much higher incidence of “low” self-esteem; while the 7% total is still small, it is significantly higher than the rest of the world.
The Avon Global Women’s Survey is conducted every two years to gather information on the interests, issues and challenges facing women. The 2000 results on the issue of Women and Health and Fitness will be released later in the year. For further information on the Women in Business findings, or the results of the Women and Beauty results released separately this month, please contact Avon Public Relations. ♦
Avon is the world’s leading direct seller of beauty and related products, with $5.3 billion in annual revenues. For more than a century Avon has provided women with economic opportunity and financial independence, and the company currently markets to women in 137 countries through three million independent sales representatives. Avon product lines include such recognizable brands as Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Color, Far Away, Rare Gold, Perceive, Avon Skin Care and Women of Earth, and the company also markets an extensive line of fashion jewelry, apparel, gifts and collectibles. Avon is committed to women through the Avon Women of Enterprise Program, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, the Avon Worldwide Fund for Women’s Health, and the Avon Running Global Women’s Circuit.
