NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- As millions of Americans prepare to celebrate Mother's Day with gifts, corsages, and brunches, trend analysts at communications agency Euro RSCG Worldwide have identified five new categories of moms. These women are a product of our times, reacting to trends ranging from 80-hour workweeks to new pressures facing adolescents.
"Last summer we introduced America to the 'metrosexual,'" says Marian Salzman, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide. "This year, we're seeing the categories of 'working moms' and 'stay-at-home moms' splinter into numerous segments, as women depart from tradition to forge life paths that work for them."
The five categories are as follows: Domestic Divas, Boomerang Moms, Yummy Mummies, Mini-Me Moms, and the Rage Brigade.
Domestic Divas: A March 2004 cover story in TIME magazine noted that the United States is experiencing its first-ever drop-off in workplace participation on the part of married women with children under age one. In 1997, 59% of such women worked outside the home, a figure that dropped to 53% in 2000. For some women, the decision to stay home is a response, at least in part, to expanded work hours and increased pressure to be the "perfect mom" who raises children that excel academically, socially, and in their extracurricular pursuits. That's not the Domestic Diva. The diva pays lip service to being the 2004 version of the "perfect mom," but in reality she simply wants the appearance of it-and the accolades that follow.
"The Domestic Diva wants flawless kids (courtesy of the nanny), a spotless home (courtesy of the cleaning service), and a reputation for being a fabulously put-together homemaker ('She makes it look so easy!')," says Salzman. "What she doesn't want is the actual work that typically comes with these things. Instead of diaper-changing and laundry, her days are filled with scrapbooking classes, working out at the gym, school volunteer work (she's typically a class mother), and meeting with her book club, quilting circle, or mahjong group."
Defining characteristics of the Domestic Diva: Smugly disdainful of working moms; worried that the jig may be up if her husband's resentment at being the sole breadwinner grows too strong Role Model: Carol Brady of "The Brady Bunch"
Boomerang Moms: These are the moms who return to work shortly after the birth of each child, doggedly climb the corporate ladder while attempting to maintain some semblance of life/work balance (usually unsuccessfully), and then, as their children near adolescence, realize that home is where they want and need to be. In many cases, they have reached a level of financial security that allows them to quit their jobs without undue strain-something they didn't feel was possible when their children were younger.
Defining characteristics of the Boomerang Mom: Wracked with guilt over the years spent away from the children; proud of professional accomplishments, but even more proud of decision to move away from a high-powered career Role models: Microsoft's Patty Stonesifer, former White House counselor Karen Hughes, Maria Shriver
Yummy Mummies: Like the Domestic Divas, these are ladies who lunch. Unlike the DDs, they have absolutely no interest in being perceived as homemaking icons. Though they may be devoted to their little darlings, they consider them a part-time hobby more than a full-time job. Equal energy goes toward maintaining their cute figures, staying a step ahead of the latest styles, and enjoying the nightlife-in and outside the bedroom-with their handsome, successful husbands.
Defining characteristics of the Yummy Mummy: Satisfaction with life choices; pride in high-achieving husband and children; determination not to be discarded in favor of a new model Role models: Victoria Beckham, Yasmin Le Bon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Karen Walker (played by Megan Mullally) on "Will & Grace"
Mini-Me Moms: To the Mini-Me Mom, children are fashion accessories, dolls to be dressed up and showcased for all the world to see. These moms are control freaks who have a set vision for what their children-typically their daughters-will be, and they are hell-bent on achieving their goals.
Defining characteristics of the Mini-Me Mom: Desire to "build" a child that has all the characteristics that matter most to the Mini-Me Mom; a certain cluelessness about how bad it all looks Role model: Madonna, Joan Rivers, Kathy Lee Gifford, Anna Wintour
Rage Brigade: At a time when work hours and pressure seem to know no limits, work-related spousal rage is on the rise. Women who earn significantly more than their husbands and who feel trapped in their careers resent the burden of responsibility, especially when they feel it takes away from their time with the kids.
The rage cuts both ways: Euro RSCG's Prosumer Pulse(R) 2004 study, conducted in February, found that a substantial 79% of women think it's fine for a woman to be a homemaker and not do paid work. In contrast, only 64% of men feel the same. Clearly, today's man is not willing to reassume responsibility for being the sole provider for wife and kids, even as more women are hoping he will do just that.
Defining characteristics of the Rage Brigade: Frustration with the lack of life/work balance; guilt at limited "downtime" with the children; anger at her spouse's unwillingness to assume more responsibility at work and at home Role model: Courtney Cox (give it time!), Christine Hughes (played by Liza Snyder) on "Yes, Dear"
Dissatisfaction with their husbands' contribution may be a factor in women's no longer seeing a male partner as an essential component of their lives. Only 64% of female respondents to Euro RSCG's latest study agreed that having a spouse/life partner is essential to their sense of fulfillment in life; in comparison, 77% of men agreed with this statement.
In keeping with the Domestic Diva trend of women focusing on self to the exclusion of other relationships, a significantly smaller proportion of women (62% vs. 76% of men) agreed that "men and women are both entitled to expect regular sex of their partners."
"These five categories by no means account for all moms in the U.S.," says Marian Salzman. "There are plenty of other, more established categories into which women fall. What they do represent is a shift away from the more traditional models of the stay-at-home and working mothers. And I think we'll see even more splintering among moms in future. In fact, one of the biggest chasms we're seeing today is not between men and women but between moms who work outside the home and those who don't. Rather than act as allies in the ongoing battle against sexism and inequalities in the workplace, these women are more likely to be at each others' throats."
Ira Matathia, Managing Director and Director of Strategy, Euro RSCG Worldwide, New York, comments: "Part of the friction between working mothers and stay-at-home moms may be mutual jealousy, but our analysts also believe it's a consequence of the fact that each group thinks its job is made more difficult by the other. Working moms think the stay-at-homes set the bar for child-centered lives impossibly high. They feel like second-class moms when their store-bought cookies are placed next to some impossibly artful creation from a stay-at-home at the class party. And stay-at-homes resent the fact that so many people question why they're not working once the child reaches school age, not to mention the fact that they think they're perceived as somehow less intellectually capable than their working peers."
ABOUT THE STUDY
Findings from U.S. leg of Prosumer Pulse 2004: A Global Study-Anticipating Consumer Demand are based on an online survey of 1,982 adults in the U.S. The survey was conducted on behalf of Euro RSCG by Market Probe International in February 2004. Over the course of 2004, Euro RSCG is fielding this survey in nine countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency, is made up of 233 offices located in 75 countries throughout Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Euro RSCG provides advertising, marketing services, corporate communications, and interactive solutions to global, regional, and local clients. The agency's client roster includes Airbus, Air France, Aventis, Cap Gemini, BNP Paribas, Danone Group, Intel Corporation, LVMH Louis Vuitton, MCI, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Polaroid, Reckitt Benckiser, and Volvo. Headquartered in New York, Euro RSCG Worldwide is the largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications (NASDAQ: HAVS-Euronext Paris SA: HAV.PA).
Press Contact:
Hilary Heard
Communications Manager
Tel. +1 212-886-2710
hilary.heard@eurorscg.com
SOURCE Euro RSCG Worldwide
CONTACT: Hilary Heard, Communications Manager, Euro RSCG Worldwide, +1-212-886-2710, hilary.heard@eurorscg.com
