Women — warriors in high heels

Once upon a time, a pretty woman spends her time waiting for a prince charming to come along in his shining armor.

But that’s a fairy tale. In real life, many pretty women are stylish warriors who are busily juggling different responsibilities, including family and career.

Media company Universal Networks International and research partner Synovate found in recent research on Asian women – whom they proudly called “high-heeled warriors” – can do everything demanded from them.

The qualitative study, based on the facts of how the audience is thinking and behaving, describes the ambition, values and identity of Asian women in some particular aspects, such as education, finance, travel, fashion and beauty.

“We are committed to getting to know our viewers better so we can fulfill their growing demands,” Christine Fellowes, the Managing Director of Asia Pacific for Universal Networks International, said when launching the study at a recent cocktail party in Jakarta.

Synovate used focus group discussions and in-depth one-on-one interviews in the homes of the female participants aged 22 to 44, who subscribe to Pay TV in four cities: Jakarta in Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Manila in the Philippines; and Singapore from June to August this year.

The research also used additional data obtained from Synovate’s PAX Survey, which covered 3,664 women in the same four markets; Nielsen Media Index in Indonesia which covered 8,550 women; and leading third-party studies on women, such as from the World Economic Forum’s, The Global Gender Gap Report 2010 and Mastercard’s Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement.

The Asian high-heeled warriors, according to the research, are educated, with 58 percent of upscale Southeast Asian women possessing a university degree and 12 percent of them a postgraduate education.

They are also capable. Women in Southeast Asian markets, specifically the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia, account for “an above average percentage among women holding senior management positions”.

The women still hold to family values and tradition, the research found, but they do not see themselves as passive participants in family decision making.

These women want to be financially independent and have high expectations regarding their career development. They are proud to be working women and/or modern mothers for their children.

The research revealed that urban women in each of the countries surveyed have different psychological motivations when it comes to expressing themselves.

Contemporary urban women in Indonesia, for example, are self-assured, career-minded and success oriented, but their decisions are always made in the context of what is best for their family.
Asia high heeled warriors in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

“There are three key motivations for Indonesian women: a sense of belonging, security and conviviality,” presenter and writer Anita Kapoor said during the presentation.

She said the Indonesian women are certain type of consumers, who will buy the best products for their family. Besides having the passion to look smart and fashionable, 55 percent of Indonesian women believe that technology will help improve their career and personal lives. This trend can be seen in the country with the fastest growing number of social networking users, which puts Indonesia only second to Brazil for the largest number of Twitter users.

Indonesian women are also committed to obtaining security in terms of finance and health. They maintain good relationships with old friends and express their conviviality by choosing family-oriented places to travel.

“We are just scratching the surface of this phenomenon. Over the next month, we’ll be visiting the capitals of several Southeast Asian countries talking about high-heeled warriors in the context of their different cultures and nationalities,” Fellowes said.

— JP/Indah Setiawati