I was delighted and surprised to receive a personal copy of "The She Spot" last week from Lisa Witter, co-author and political blogger on the Huffington Post, with her letter letting me know AskPatty.com had been featured as a case study on page 102.

An avid reader, I gobbled up "The She Spot" like a delicious desert in a few evenings and highly recommend this book to anyone who doubts the social, economic and political power of women to influence change in our world.

This book will surely resonate, educate and inspire women to understand just how much power and influence we wield, join together and put all this hard earned social, economic and political power and influence to work in the world for good and worthwhile causes and purpose.

Excerpt from book:

"Because women have been perceived as a niche audience for so long from both the public and political sectors, we are light years behind where we should be in marketing to them....."

Women's Economic Clout is Growing

On one level, it boils down to money: who's got it and who's giving it. Given that women continue to earn 78 cents for every man's dollar, you'd be inclined to think men control the majority of the wealth in this country.

But a recent survey of data from the Federal Reserve Board reveals that this isn't so. Women actually control slightly more than half (51.3 percent) of all personal wealth in the United States. They make 83 percent of all household purchasing decisions, including big ticket items that are typically associated with men: cars, home development wares, and home electronics. Women even buy more riding lawn mowers than men do.

There are several reasons for this slight income edge. One is that women outlive men, and widows are inheriting their husbands' wealth. But that's just one sliver of the pie. Women are also generating their own income as never before, to the point that one out of four married women out-earn their spouses.

Women-owned businesses today are the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, representing $3.3 trillion in purchasing power. What's more, firms owned by women of color are growing at six times the rate of all U.S. firms.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are strong indications that women will continue to level the playing field with men as their income as a group continues to rise.

One of these indicators is education. Today, more women than ever are getting a college education, the biggest stepping stone to higher-paying jobs. What's more, once women start attending college, they are significantly more likely than men to graduate (63 percent compared to 55 percent), according to recent studies.

While women still earn less than men on average, when they take home a college degree, they make a large leap in their ability to raise their standard of living. Women are taking greater leaps than men on this front, which makes it a profound predictor for women's greater income potential in the near future. Between 1990 and 2000, the standard-of-living gain for women with a bachelor's degree under their belt compared to those with a high school diploma was 13 percent larger than for men.

We're already seeing these trends play out. The number of women who earn $100,000 or more has tripled in the past decade, making them the fastest-growing segment of wealthy individuals, according to the Employment Policy Foundation. Over the past 30 years, women's income has jumped more than 60 percent, while men's median income has stayed (more or less) the same (up just 6 percent). This phenomenon shows no sign of letting up. Women from the baby boom generation are at their earning peak. And as Americans live longer and healthier lives than their parents, many are planning to forego the retirement community in Florida in favor of working well into their so-called "golden years." By 2010 women are expected to control 60 percent of the country's wealth...."

Lisa Witter is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Fenton Communications. She head the firm's practice in women's issues and global affairs. She is a political and social commentator and blogger.

Lisa Chen, Senior Vice President at Fenton Communications, is the firm's head editor and writer. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other leading dailies.

You can purchase "The She Spot" on Amazon.com.

A big thank you to Lisa Witter and Lisa Chen for including AskPatty.com in "The She Spot"!

Money Shoes photo from Flickr Toff995

Jody DeVere
CEO/President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com