Girl Power!

I've been obsessively reading a few of Lisa See's books, Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy.  Both are VERY good books about China, starting in 1936 and going through the communist 60s.  (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is also SUPER good--foot binding, arranged marriages, womens' chamber.  I also read Peony in Love, not my favorite but also a good look into women in Chinese culture after the fall of the Ming Dynasty.)  


I'm currently rereading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.  I liked it the first time I read it, the summer after my freshman year in college, but now I find it surprisingly trivial.  These women!  What they think is important, how they spend their time, choose their husbands--it's almost as foreign to me as what I read about in Lisa See's books. 
It made me realize how lucky I was to be born in the US in the 70s.  My mom was THRILLED I was a girl.  I got to pick who I married.  I'm allowed to choose any profession that interests me (OK WNBA might be out of the question).  I'm allowed to go where I please.  Mostly I'm glad that my feet were never bound.
Today, I'm not expected to obey my husband.  I'm not judged by how well I embroider.  My skills on the piano-forte don't determine my marriageability.  Today, as a women in the US, I have a lot of power.  I've mentioned this before, but I don't think I've ever put given the stats. 
Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care:

91% of New Homes

66% PCs

92% Vacations

80% Healthcare

65% New Cars

89% Bank Accounts

93% Food

93 % OTC PharmaceuticalsAmerican women spend about $5 trillion annually…
Over half the U.S. GDP

Also interesting:
Women process information and make purchasing decisions differently than men:

59% of women feel misunderstood by food marketers;

66% feel misunderstood by health care marketers;

74% feel misunderstood by automotive marketers;

84% feel misunderstood by investment marketers

91% of women in one survey said that advertisers don’t understand them

Nearly 50% of women say they want more green choices

37% are more likely to pay attention to brands that are committed to environmental causes.

25% of all products in a woman’s shopping cart nowadays are environmentally friendly.When women are aware you support women owned businesses

Women make more than 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions

57% of women gardened within the last year

When I feel like there's not much I can do to help the causes that I'm passionate about.  I read these stats and realize, I can.  I can vote with my dollars.