Ms. Understood -- She's Every Woman

Bottom Line, Not Hemline

Given some of the changes that have occurred recently regarding females in our industries, it's become even more important for complete clarity of expectations. Women have gone from being midday hosts, APDs and MDs and sidekicks to hosting drivetime slots, programming, managing and ownership. Today, more than ever in business, it's about bottom line, not hemline.

One of the positive facts of 2007 is the on-going trend in which females continue breaking through the glass ceiling. That's the invisible barrier that prevents qualified individuals from advancing within the organization and reaching their full potential. These ceilings and walls exist throughout our industries, especially for minorities and females. On the surface, the radio and music industries with their abundant entry level positions and apprenticeships appear to be somewhat immune to this type of discrimination, as if the glass ceiling is either a myth or a decaying artifact. But the fact is, although things may have improved, we've still got a long way to go.

Female Generation Jones

The truth is that discrimination in all its forms is not a myth, it is a fact. And there is an often overlooked, non-Arbitron defined category of 18-34 listeners who are the key to success for any urban formatted station. Most obviously, they're African Americans. What you may not know is that they are also female. We simply cannot win without them, nor are these young female adult listeners limited to African-Americans either. For the most part, they are more aware and better educated than the generation they replaced. They are part of the new "Black Generation Jones."

According to the results of some recent studies in which we participated, we found working women spend more time listening to the radio than non-working women, many whom used to seem to favor television soaps and game shows. Now these same studies show that African American working women spend more time listening to urban radio, when it's available, than do working women among total listeners. This is an important fact for advertisers and may have contributed to the recent firing of Don Imus.

While the recent Imus dismissal could have a dampening effect on future shock-jock insults, the lasting lesson is that empowered African-American females were instrumental in prompting his removal.

Something else that is in the process of being removed and changed, are the statistics on what African-Americans spend. For example, the average yearly expenditures for black households for food eaten at home far exceed the average spent for food consumed by a black household away from home. This information was provided to us from The Bureau of Labor Statistic Consumer Expenditure Survey 2006.

Included in that group of 8.6 million black women who have personal incomes 476,0000 have annual incomes of over $35,000, 74,0000 have incomes of over $50,000 and more than 9000 bring in over $75,000 a year.

Just as significant is the fact that the vast majority of African-American women today totally control how they spend that money. Of the 8.6 million black women, only about 2.9 million are married with a husband present, meaning that 5.8 million black women over 18 have personal incomes and are single, widowed or separated from their husbands. Those 5.8 million women, who solely control the buying decisions, have total annual personal incomes of over $50.1-billion.

Add to this information the fact that women between the ages of 18-and 39, which is perhaps the prime buying segment, are in the highest income earning segment of the African-American population (as opposed to white women, whose highest income earning period comes in their later years;) the fact is that nearly 50% of all black households are female-headed, with the black woman again making all of the purchasing decisions. The females who listen to urban radio stations are much more like to agree that "I make all of the money decisions in the household" than the female listeners of other formats. More than a third strongly agree with this statement. In other words, if you advertise directly to them, they can do something about it without checking with anybody else.

Since working women as a rule do not have as much time to cook as those who remain at home, using urban radio to reach them consistently is definitely the way to score big at the cash registers for the makers of easy-to-prepare convenience foods. Because, as the ever-changing stats indicate, more meals are prepared at home than are eaten out.

One thing that has not changed is the fact that females are still the first to be attracted to the urban formats. Who is the new sister of soul? Well, for one thing, a growing number of them believe their chances of getting married may be slimmer, or if they do get married, they feel that they may not have the time for a large family. Some will not want children at all. While women continue to want to be part of dual-earning households, many are placing less emphasis on work and more on family.

Here's a lesser known secret about female listeners. They are worriers. Women who listen to radio are more likely than average to worry. They worry about their future, their safety and their health. And if they have kids, especially with what just happened in Virginia, they worry a lot about their kids' safety. They are no more likely that the average diary-keeper (and soon PPM meter carrier). to agree with the statement "I get angry more often that I used to." This worry and anger are driving forces when they listen to urban radio. Surprisingly, 72% listen to relax and 53% listen to reduce stress, both percentages much higher than average diary-keepers. Urban radio's mission in 2007 - make them feel good. Don't add to their stress or discomfort.

Today more than ever, women who listen to urban radio are kid sensitive. They don't want radio that is inappropriate for kids. More than 55% "strongly agree" they'll tune out if the kids can't or shouldn't listen. Among women 18-49 who listen to urban radio, nearly 50% are under the age of 29. and two thirds are under the age of 34.

Women are tired of the "superwoman" image. One east coast administrative assistant claims, "that 'S' on my chest, now stands for sensitive." For many working women there has been a major shift of a withdrawal from work and a new emphasis placed on personal lives, needing their own time and space. These young potential female listeners are, for the most part, better educated and want to be better informed as well as entertained. So far our research has been concentrated on the entertainment aspect. Now added to the equation of "What songs do they want to hear?" must also be "What do they want to know? And when do they want to know it?" Do they want it just in drive times or anytime we can give it them?

Beyond Sexual Harassment

Misogyny is now becoming a breeding ground for sexual harassment and demeaning taunts aimed at women. There are plenty of recent examples and plenty of people who are concerned about the disturbing trend of anti-female abuse from rappers, concerts and even on the radio. In concerts, these kinds of rap acts and their type of music can fuel a sense of entitlement to the crowd, that they can do anything they want and victimize people, especially women. When artists, the MCs and male fans urge women to take off their clothes, it all adds up to intense social pressure on young females in their teens. Generally, we as a culture, don't see it as a big deal to call women vile names, but we're dealing with young people and there is a lot of peer pressure. They are in the developmental stages of their lives and they want to fit in and belong to a group. Today women should be prepared for the worse when attending a rap concert. They can't be naïve. They probably shouldn't go to these concerts alone. They should go

with a group of friends or a boyfriend. Many of these rap concerts have traditionally been male domains, but in recent years more women are getting close to the action. There is even a growing number of female rappers.

The women who attend these events want to see the acts they hear on the radio. Smart promoters often combine tender balladeers such as Ne-Yo or Chris Brown with real hard core hip-hoppers. They perform as guests on each other's records. So why wouldn't' they combine to tour?

Hip-hop artists often use coarse street language usually associated with hard-core rap and hip-hop music to enhance their songs, because they feel that's what's expected of them. That type of lyrical aggression can be lethal especially when it is combined with the ear-shattering music, energy and physical confrontation in these concerts.

Two Different Worlds

African-American females speak like their male counterparts of living in two different worlds. In one they are judged by their credentials and capabilities. In the other, race and gender still come first. Around the turn of the century W.E.B. Dubois described this "twoness" felt by blacks, who were forced by segregation to see themselves both from the inside and from without, as they might appear to a hostile white world. Today that world seems to be less hostile. But achievement and a limited degree of acceptance have dove-tailed to remove all traces of ambiguity from the lives of African-American women in America.

Those of us who would be on top of the trends in this decade have to reflect their fresh direction. A prevailing attitude is that time is more precious than money. Tired of superficiality and status symbolism, today's woman will be attempting to live a more authentic life. Substance will prevail over hype.

Ever the prototypical image of what makes a woman attractive has been somewhat transformed. There are many images of attractiveness now. There have been a number of ladies who have broken down the barrier and proven that success does not depend upon gender but rather upon talent and ability.

There are more female executives at major radio stations and record companies than in the past, although as the industry shrinks and downsizes, so will that number. Our sisters have made great strides, moving steadily up the corporate ladder and pushing the "glass ceiling" even higher. Career and families are not mutually exclusive for today's female executives, who previously were forced to choose one or the other.

While the women's movement in our industries is maturing into higher expectations, sisterhood is still mighty powerful and growing daily. As Margaret Mead once said. "Women are very hard to scare." As we see it, real men no longer hide behind women's skirts; neither do women.

Word.