Misinformed stereotypes often tell us thattechnology is a man’s domain. This rather lazy assumption clearly ignores thework of incredible women in the space. Women like Ada Lovelace who wasconsidered the first computer programmer and a visionary in her field (no meanfeat when you considered she died in 1852 at the age of just 36), or Katherine Johnsonwhose genius helped land the first humans on the moon.
These women continue to inspire an incrediblegroup of highly influential female business leaders in the tech industry. Womenlike Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook), Susan Wojcicki (YouTube), and Belinda Johnson (Airbnb) are all at the topof their game and should prove; once and for all, that high-tech business isnot exclusively a man’s world.
WomenAre Still Under-Represented in Technology
OK, we shouldn’t get too excited aboutwomen in tech yet because we still have a long way to go. Despite theremarkable achievements of the aforementioned female pioneers, women are stillhighly under-represented in the tech sector. Statisticssuggest that women only represent 16 percent of the global technologyworkforce. In the US, the situation iseven worse with reports suggesting women are leaving the industry faster thanthey can be replaced.
This is a real shame because when you lookat how people use technology, there are many areas where women dominate thespace. This is especially true in the smartphone environment.
WomenSpend More Time on Mobile Devices than Men
According to research by the UK data andinsight company UKOM,women spend more time accessing online services via mobile devices than men,with more than two-thirds of their time online spent on their smartphone ortablets.
Women spend 39 percent more time engagingwith social media channels on their smartphone than men. Huge time differencescan also be seen on retail sites and apps (67%), viewing photographs (71%), andhealth-related services (29%).
Highlighting the way women use theirdevices, Julie Foley, UKOM’s Director of Insight said: “Women, with their more natural desire to connect with friends andfamily, as well as their predilection for shopping, play a much bigger role indriving internet use on smartphones. Phone conversations as a method forsharing information and catching up are increasingly being usurped bysmartphone apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and the like. Men stilluse these services on their phones, but just not to the same extent.”
Moving away from, what many would consider,outdated and perhaps patronizing gender-based stereotypes (females like to talkand shop), women also spend more time on the mobile devices doing things youmight stereotypically assume were "male" pastimes. For example, you might be surprised to learnwomen also spend upwards of 30 percent more time gaming on their smartphonesthan their male counterparts.
Womenand Gaming
Women outnumber men when it comes to gamingon their smartphones with 60 percent of women questioned in a surveystating that they played games on their devices on a daily basis, compared tojust 30 percent of male respondents.
In an environment where more than 75percent of apps are only used once following download and activation, thisstatistic is incredibly important. If an app is ever going to be profitable,recouping the considerable cost of its development and marketing, it needs tobe engaged with frequently. This is true regardless of how it is monetized –via advertising, in-app purchases or even premium downloads which rely onpositive reviews and word-of-mouth (social) marketing to make a big enoughimpact.
Timeand Money
According to thisreport, female consumers are much cheaper to acquire via mobile than menand they are also more likely to make in-app purchases.
The average cost to acquire a femaleconsumer who will complete a purchase on a mobile device is around $56.58,while it costs almost double that to acquire an active male user. Nearly 12percent of female users will make an in-app purchase compared to 11 percent ofmen. When that single percentage point equates to millions of downloads and activations– the cash generated from these sales is significant.
It aLifestyle Thing
You could argue that the smartphoneenvironment suits so many women because it fits in with their lifestyles. It’sa social environment that fits in your back pocket or purse and enables usersto engage with it while also juggling careers, family, and the 101 other thingsthat women do. We already excel at multi-tasking; the smartphone just lets usmulti-task more.
As the smartphone becomes more prevalentaround the world, it also opens up opportunities to women who might not havehad access to digital services and the advantages of the online economy before.
Further Reading: BRICS:A Smart Future Built on Affordable Devices
Why is This Important?
When app developers realize that theircustomer-base is increasingly female – it creates more opportunities for womento work in the industry. When the people who create and market your apps lookmore like your audience, you are always going to stand a better chance ofcreating something that really connects with your audience.
Ultimately, people buy from people theylike and identify with – so isn’t it about time you started mirroring your mostlucrative audience in your organization.
BetterTargeting
Digital Turbine can help your app reach itstarget audience regardless of gender, geography or demographics. Our deep relationshipswith global device manufacturers and mobile networks ensure your pre-loadedapps target the right people, on the right device, at the right time.
Talk to one of our pre-loading expertstoday about your next app marketing campaign.
