What Women Want: The Global Marketplace Turns Female-Friendly - Term Paper Example

?What Women Want: The Global Marketplace Turns Women Friendly Introduction One single characteristic is common to nearly all living organisms (Ayass,2009). The characteristic is that most creatures, including humans, have male and female members (Ayass, 2009). One unique feature among humans is a specialized adaption to move sex from a physical or biological characteristic into a fully integrated sociological characteristic. Gender is the sociological adaption of both sexes in humans (Brown, 2004). Gender gives a sociological base to men and women by assuring specific functions are assigned clearly to a variety of people. In the past, from a marketing perspective, men developed the legal tender and purchasing power while women did the actual purchasing (Ayass, 2009). Currently, the marketing trend has changed, creating a struggle for purchasing power between men and women. In the recent past, phrases like “traditional role of men” and “traditional role of women” were common. The phrases indicated certain lines of responsibilities and actions were defined for men and women (Aad, 2012). The basic conceptions was that gender was defined as the identification of a person based on their roles in society (Ayass, 2009). Despite the current use of the word gender, the fact that woman are still referred to as females and men are referred to as males, is evident that the roles and responsibilities have not remained the same. For example, men were recognized previously as the traditional financial providers for the family. Men were expected to be employed in top executive positions and control all financial issues at home. Also, men were employed in the most arduous jobs and professions, compared to women. In the past, the terms housewife or homemaker were common because most married women stayed home and cared for the children and the home. Underhill (2011) noted that the trend has changed and an evolution has occurred. Women were no longer homemakers but rather as homebuilders (Underhill, 2011). In the modern home, women hold positions of primary authority, and contribute to decision making for the family (Underhill, 2011, p. 41). In fact, the decisions and actions of some women ensured homes were created. Some of the women own the homes, instead of the men owning the homes. In the current report, the global market place regarding what women want is reviewed from a marketing perspective. Much of the emphasis and focus will be based on some of the critical findings outlined by Underhill (2011) in his book, “What Women Want: The Science of Female Shopping”. In general, how evolution has influenced the entire global marketplace to become female friendly will be examined. How the Evolution of Women’s Roles has Occurred Societal change is difficult for many to accept. A general conception among people exists that when something is longstanding, it brings about rich experiences that are often transferred into the production of perfect results. In effect, the traditional roles of men and women might have been viewed as a phenomenon that would remain constant. However, constancy has not remained regarding the social/economic roles of men and women. Currently, no economic or commercial task can be identified as solely for men or women. Both sexes are equally active within the economic marketplace. The global market place has been expanded and challenged (Hasslinger, 2007). The global marketplace has expanded because more competitors exist, thus the market capital value has increased overall. To understand the modern global marketplace critically and how it favors men and women alike, it is important to understand the evolution of women’s roles. Without the evolution of women in society, the global marketplace would not be as competitive. Numerous reasons have created the evolution of what women want in the marketplace. Underhill (2011) noted that the change occurred slowly over a long period. The peak occurred when married women realized that they could not remain dependent on men. For instance, when marriages ended in divorce or women were widowed, women realized they could not live on an inheritance long term (Bailey, 2003). Women who did not get involved in other intimate relationships or marriage, were embarrassed because they needed to depend on their families again (Silverstein, 2002). With the threat relying on family and the threat of single motherhood without financial support, women saw the need for their own earnings. The evolution for women to seek financial independence did not occur suddenly nor did it come without opposition from men. Many men opposed the concept of their wives working outside the home (Bailey, 2003). Therefore, the home job phenomenon began where women would do home related jobs such as dressmaking and minor trading that did not take them outside of the home to earn income (Bidgoli, 2004). During the beginning of the evolution, women were not given any formal education regarding home based businesses. However, when the significance of the contributions by home based businesswomen was recognized, business leaders saw the need to help educate women regarding their endeavors. Leaders recognized that educating home based businesspersons created more active business people. As more active business people, educated women would have greater influence in marketing and trading, thus expanding markets. Later, an economic hardship developed which suggested clearly that men needed some help in financing the home. The evolution did not happen as a mass process. Instead, men started supporting their wives taking less demanding jobs so that they would support the family finances. With further advancement in education, women are working in nearly every profession and own businesses. What Modern Women Look for in the Home As the evolution neared completion, women started taking more control of the global market as partners in trade and business. With more marketing influence, women became more involved in financial decision making at home. Currently, many women own their own homes and/or are joint homeowners with their husbands. With this said, it is necessary to discuss what the modern woman looks for in a home. Cleanliness. Most women appreciate cleanliness (Underhill, 2011, p. 12). Underhill (2011) traced the origin of cleanliness to the traditional roles women performed when it was their complete responsibility to ensure that the home was clean at all times. As part of housekeeping, women were expected to clean; therefore, many modern women continue to view cleaning as part of their regular lifestyle (Brown, 2004). In a modern home, a woman expects cleanliness. Women achieve the quest for cleanliness in numerous ways. For example, some women are highly involved in the actual design of the home or the selection a designs for the home to assure ease of cleaning concepts. As a part of the design team, women select designs that are aesthetically appealing and easy to manage (Cheung, Zhu, Kwong, Chan, & Limayen, 2003). Other women clean the home in addition to their regular jobs by ensuring the home was clean before they left for their outside employment. Another group of women employ outside housecleaners to ensure their homes are clean. Another way of fulfilling the desire for cleanliness involves shopping and purchasing habits (Fesenmaier, Wober, & Werthner, 2006). Many women buy products that cause less dirt or are used for cleaning purposes (Fesenmaier et al., 2006). The purchasing styles of women will be discussed in detail in other areas of the research paper. Control. Modern women have expressed another significant and outstanding desire that they consider a form of equality or majority; they desire total control in the home (Dasgupta, 2006). The issue of control brings to the forefront a discussion on the type of leadership style used in most modern homes. Traditionally, within most homes, the autocratic style of leadership was practices whereby most men made all the decisions without input from women. The autocratic leadership style gave absolute control within the home to men. As society progressed and women became more influential based on education and commerce, the style of leadership shifted to the democratic form of leadership (Bangia, 2006). The democratic form of leadership was based on equal contributions in decision making between men and women (Bangia, 2006). With the democratic form of leadership style, women are given an equal chance to be in control because their views are factored into decision-making (Barney and Hesterley, 1996). Yet, further research has shown that some women want absolute control. Women who desire absolute control do so in a number of ways. For married women, some have a different home than their husbands so the women maintain absolute control and authority within that separate home (Barney and Hesterley, 1996). Other women do not marry so that they can maintain leadership in their own homes. In other cases, some women only use men to biologically father their children and take the entire responsibility of childcare as single mothers (The Nielson Company, 2010). Some women enter into nonmarital relationships with men, develop issues with the men and despite having children leave the relationship to lead their homes as single mothers (The Nielson Company, 2010). Safety. A long cherished role of the man has been security at home (National Committee of Inquiry into HE, 2007). Based on the man’s role to assure a secure home, many women have demanded safety from their men in the house (Shepherd, 2007). As the roles changed, two major trends began. First, some women continued to depend and require security and safety from their men. If women were married, they expected their husbands to provide security. If women lived in family homes, they would expect brothers and fathers to be responsible for their safety. Generally, women viewed safety in the home as their right, without having to think who provided the safety. A second group of women developed who addressed the issue of safety themselves (Morphet, Johns and Reller, 2002). Research has shown that some women prefer to be in control of their own safety because they feel more secure when they take charge (Kuester, 2013). Women who take charge of their own home safety, engage resources and action plans aimed at ensuring the home is a safe place to live. Research seemed to indicate that women who have children in their care are the most likely to take charge of home safety. Women with children view themselves and their children/dependents as beneficiaries of their safety action plan. Further, the level of safety women desire influences their styles and attitudes in purchasing (Delafrooz, Paim, & Khatibi, 2010). Consideration. Underhill (2011) identified another significant element that modern women want in their homes is consideration. The element of consideration has been a much-debated topic with several dimensions. For instance, Pedersen (2005) argued that women cannot seek consideration as a form of preferential treatment if they desire total independence in the home. Some researchers have indicated that modern men and women are equal; therefore, whatever a man can do, a woman can do also, and may do it better (Robson, 1994). If men and women are equal, then the concept of preferential treatment for women is void (Proctor & Vu, 2005). However, all people accept this argument especially some women. Actually, some women continue to prefer a home environment where they will be treated as the “special ones” (Underhill, 2011, p. 53). Thus, women request consideration when sharing duties, in the use of physical strengths, and in the allocation of general styles of treatment (Rodriguez, 2009). The justification remains that although a large number of women have become forerunners in the modern global marketplace, they maintain most of their traditional roles and desire consideration to better balance the roles of homemaker and businessperson. Without the element of consideration, some have suggested that women are carrying more of a burden than they deserve resulting in unfairness (Robson, 1994). Competition. Interestingly, women who want consideration within the home also seek competition. From a marketing perspective, competition is defined as a healthy struggle between people who are trading similar products or services to gain the attention of customers (Brown, 2004). The definition to competition could be applied to what women want in the home. First, the modern woman sets the tone for competition because she is trading just as the man is doing. Therefore, unlike the past when men were the only people in the marketplace who were trying to make money, women have joined in the financial provider role (Fesenmaier et al., 2006). In modern times, the men and women are forced to compete to determine who makes the most revenue (Fesenmaier et al., 2006). Within the home, despite the fact that the woman may not be involved in the same kind of work as her husband, they compete indirectly because each shows a financial accounting for their work. The same form of competition occurs in the workplace (Underhill, 2011, p. 113). As a means of economic survival based on the competition, women want to use the very dynamics of the home as a rehearsal ground to gain experience for the workplace competition regarding solving basic problems and making basic decisions (Underhill, 2011, p. 43). Homemakers to Homeowners Underhill (2011) made it emphatically clear that women are no longer simply homemakers alone but also homeowners (p. 112). Homemakers may be defined as people whose major task and responsibility is to ensure that the home is in order and normal tasks are taken care of (Angel, 2012). Traditionally, women assured the home was orderly and properly maintained including nursing and nurturing children, preparing meals, cleaning, and numerous other duties. Based on the number and variety of demanding tasks within the home, most women did not have the opportunity or time to have outside employment. According to Underhill (2011), the current situation is far different than it was in the past. In modern society, the woman has challenged herself to be a homeowner, also. Thus, modern women have made sufficient changes in their lives to own a home, raise family singly, and become the controller (leader) of the home. The changes are possible because of the new roles that modern women have undertaken. Additionally, it was noted that most women are involved in jobs that were otherwise designated as only for men. However, the changes have not been without cost to women. The Evolution and Women’s Health Most women who operate within the global marketplace do so by combining wage-earning roles with traditional women oriented responsibilities. Based on the increased workload, women’s health has become an issue for the contemporary woman. Researchers have agreed that the increased numbers of women dominating the global marketplace has not been a result of the hormonal and genetic makeup of women. The changes have been purely social and psychological. However, the health issues women have experienced in the past remain unaccounted for within the evolutionary change. The only improvement would be the fact that the average woman is no longer fully dependent on a man regarding medical expenses. Many women are able to afford preventive health care. In fact, many are increasingly educated to understand preventative health care dynamics and remain healthier than they had historically. Despite all the advantages afforded to modern women, health implications based on women’s roles in the global marketplace remains a major challenge that is largely unaddressed (Savage, 2009) Menstruation, conception, lactation, and menopause are all health issues that women face throughout their lives. If women could be independent at home, they could manage the women specific health issues better than if they were working outside the home also. Unfortunately, the working environment has become so mainstream that virtually no provisions are made to accommodate the specific health issues of the working woman. Exceptions are given to women for maternity leave but many women would claim that performing normal office work while pregnant and making the same salary as men was unfair (Savage, 2009). In a survey, 80% of women stated that preferential treatment is lacking for women based on women specific health concerns (Underhill, 2011). Therefore, it can be concluded that the current evolution has not taken into account the health needs of women. Interestingly, Underhill (2011) noted that in the face of all these challenges, “In 2005, young women under the age of 30 in the largest American cities overtook men in earning power” (p. 4). Despite, all the challenges associated with women’s health issues in the working place, important advancements in female reproductive health care have occurred. Because society has realized that the changes that women face are inevitable and irreversible, experts have started to handle all forms of inadequacies women face, including health issues. Currently, very advanced health facilities exist that provide specialized services to women. Women have played a significant role in the technological advancements that are used to provide specialized care (Hasslinger, 2007). Several women have made significant contributions to the application and use of technology (Fesenmaier et al., 2006). Despite the pressure evolution has caused, women have played a significant role in technological advancement in designing equipment and within advanced medical facilities to address special health needs women face. Factors That Influence the Modern Trend The evolution of women’s role has shown some essential environmental factors that have accounted for the changes to women in society. In this section of the research, an emphasis will be given to some of the environmental factors that have made the global marketplace favorable for modern women. Reduction of the manufacturing sector that needs muscle. In earlier centuries, technology was not as advanced as is in modern society. Most factory based manufacturing work used manual strength and power to get work accomplished. The need for manual strength and power favored the use of men who were more muscular and stronger in general than women. Underhill (2011) emphasized that in the past, muscle was something that men provided in the era of industrialization. Currently, change could be the most fitting word to describe what happened in industrialization. Technology has dominated the change in the manufacturing industry so much that muscular strength is no longer more of an advantage than mental strength. Skills and knowledge in operating basic machinery and equipment are considered essential for a placement in modern high class manufacturing companies (Saaksjarvi, 2007). Skill and knowledge do not necessarily involve muscular strength; therefore, women are no longer at a disadvantage within the manufacturing industry, which was primarily dominated by men (Terry, Gallois, & McCamish, 1993). Apart from the manufacturing industry as a direct case study, a similar argument could be introduced for other labor related activities. Electronic commerce is a technology-based concept involving the sales business that does not require muscles or physical strength. Modern women can remain in homes or offices to complete multimillion dollar sales deals (Nazier, Tayyab, Sajid, Rashid, & Javed, 2012). Greater control over women’s reproductive lives. Another interesting trend that may be responsible for dominance of women in the global market is that modern women have better and greater control over their reproductive lives. A century ago, the pride of most women was in motherhood (Savage, 2009) . The social and economic implications of women’s reproductive role in the marketplace were not considered critically a century ago. In terms of social implications, the motherhood affected women’s power of creativity and ability to operate in business. Economically, women involved as mothers were denied the time needed to have active economic roles and responsibilities in the marketplace. Women were concerned about ensuring that their children were well raised and that required time and commitment. Within modern society, the situation is different because women have control over their reproductive health and choices. The choices available can assure that reproductive issues are not an impediment to the aspirations to impact society and the economy. Leaders of most nations encourage women in the marketplace by supporting improved health policies for women, although one of the major reasons involves controlling population growth (Grix, 2002). An education system that suits girls more than boys. In developed and developing countries, educational systems exist that provide as much focus on education for women as men. The reason for the bias is simple. Underhill (2011) noted that modern women need education because it has been denied to them for several years (p. 112). Modern educational systems are supporting girls in an attempt to make up for the wide gap and lapses between the educational opportunities for men and women, which was created over the years (Sheikh, 2009). Currently, programs and policies exist to ensure education is lucrative and accessible to girls/women including scholarships, sponsorships, specialized women’s institutions, women biased job lines, and individualized women’s training. The programs and opportunities have enhanced the level of involvement and growth by women and provided them with economic freedom and dependence within global decision-making. Now, well-educated modern women can decide on the kind of jobs they desire and can decide to compete with men in nearly any job because they have the necessary and requisite qualifications to do so. In the past, higher levels of education (i.e., master’s and doctorate degrees) were male dominated, but modern women have an equal representation and equal labor bargaining power (Ha?ubl, 2000). Global Manpower Deficiency In the past century, when the global marketplace was dominated primarily by men, the population of the world was less than half of what it is currently (Kuester, 2013). Technology was not an integrated into the world in the past. The requirements of the modern world have increased to such an extent that an urgent need exists for additional labor to feed people and power industries. With the demand for labor and the realization that women dominate men based on world population, it is prudent to open up the global marketplace for women (Shattock, 1996). In most global economies, research has shown that if women were excluded from the labor force, the gross domestic products of countries would reduce by nearly 21% (The Nielson Company, 2010). Imperatively, 21% of the manpower and labor force of countries consist of women. The appreciation of what women offer in terms of global labor and human capital is an essential factor that has influenced the current trend of dominance by women in the global marketplace. Areas of Women Capability Dominance Even though the current global marketplace has been described as a highly competitive place for both males and females, it is without doubt that there are some key areas within the marketplace that women dominate, as against men (Underhill, 2011). In this section, some of these dominant areas by women are critically reviewed, including factors that make them highly suitable for females as opposed to males. Health industry. Based on the educational advances available to modern women, it is prudent to discuss areas where women have excelled and shown dominance, which has subsequently succeeded in labeling the areas as female capability dominant. The health care industry statistics show more women than men serve as nurses, nutritionists, obstetricians, optometrists, and midwives (Turban, 2010). In fact, women have taken charge in health-related jobs and shown class and experience in the duties. It is common that patrons of health related services would prefer to receive service and care from women compared to men in the same industry. Entrepreneurs and managers of the health industry facilities are moving to women domination (Sirghar, 2008). The trend has been welcomed by government officials as a positive development worth enhancing. In major developed countries including the United States and China, programs and packages for women industry leaders in the health care industry are increasing. In other areas, new aspects of the health care industry are being introduced to cater to new women graduates including family health care, community health nursing, alternative health care, and herbal science (Underhill, 2011). Food industry. The food industry is another industry identified dominated by women. Specifically, food has been traditionally linked with women and women have been linked with food. Traditionally, women are in charge of the meals at home, providing delicious and nutritious meals for the family. Therefore, it is normal that women would dominate the commercialization of food services. In the food industry, typically women are the caterers, servers, matrons, and other food service roles (Turner P (2002). Even more impressive is the fact that many women have ventured into other business aspects not directly related to cooking including accounting, management, and auditing (Hasslinger, 2007). Women are owners of a significant number of the largest food related companies in the world. Yet, it is not simply about the numbers but the rate of success that the women are achieving. When women business owners desire to hire employees, often they hire other women. The situation of women business owners hiring women has increased the position of women in the economic market place. Hospitality. Women have active participants in the businesses within the tourism and hospitality industries. The movement into such industries has been seen as a transfer of the traditional women held roles of hospitality within the home to the business world. Traditionally when women were more restricted to the home, they were expected to be experts in hospitality to their husbands’ business associates and others who entered their home. A traditional woman who does not work outside of the home would be required to ensure sufficient food was always available or ready for visitors. Additionally, women were expected to entertain visitors, ensure the security of visitors, and make sure visitors/guests felt at ease when they visited. The role has not changed, but has been professionalized and made commercially viable. In most countries where tourism is a national competitive advantage and booming industry, women have dominated the markets and lived highly profitable lifestyles. One important point has been that the women take advantage of where they live by combining various areas of the hospitality industry into one common consolidated industry. Underhill (2011) noted that women have become the “new urbanist communities that offer the geographic closeness of cities” (p. 54). Women in most urban centers have combined services in restaurants, hotels, travel and tourism businesses, spas, beauty related industries, and other related areas to provide a well founded hospitality fortune (Yuan, 2005). Education. When women are involved in education, women not only teach knowledge and skills but also nurture the students (Kuester, 2013). The traditional role of women as nurturers has made them well suited to guide young people. Women have dominated as educators of children at the early childhood educational levels. Women are teachers, babysitters, principals, cooks, counselors, and more within the education sector. Based on the challenges and competition of the global marketplace, women who begin careers as uncertified daycare workers or kindergarten teachers later advance their qualifications by pursuing higher education. In effect, a woman at any level of educational occupation is viewed as a professional who adds competence to their areas of expertise (The Nielson Company, 2010). Modern women have not limited themselves to competitions at the basic levels of education but have elevated to the top hierarchy of education such as law (Delafrooz et al., 2010). How Traditional Role has Influenced with Modern Roles The success of women in succeeding in modern roles has been discussed. However, very little have been said regarding the secret behind the successes. Recently, Angel (2010) noted that most women are stable and successful in the modern occupations including education, hospitality, food, and health care because of the nature of women’s traditional roles. Consequently, the traditional roles of women have positively influenced the modern roles of women. Naturally, women are involved in home care, people care, health care, and the administration of people yet their traditional roles have encompassed all these areas. Therefore, when competing with men, the tendency to transfer existing knowledge and skill is natural. Specific areas of women specific knowledge and ability includes the ability to multitask, the possession of compassion, the ability to address other people’s weaknesses, skills in interpersonal relationships, and the attainment of modesty. In various industries, each of the abilities and qualities can be used and harnessed to provide prudent and important competitive advantages to business. Any influence by the traditional roles of women on their modern roles and lifestyle have had a positive influence despite the challenges that are involved with combining traditional roles and modern roles concurrently (Mitchell & Walsh, 2004). Purchasing Behavior of Women As far as purchasing is concerned, women have been described as shoppers and men as buyers. Women have a peculiar purchasing behavior that makes them spend more time in the purchasing experience than men. Women spend time during the prepurchasing, purchasing, and postpurchasing stages to make the entire purchasing behavior a comprehensive shopping experience. Unlike men, who shop quickly by pick one or two needed things, women enter the marketplace with expectation about the shopping experience and expect to be more involved than just picking up products and paying for them (Wind & Mahajan, 2001). Research has shown that most women value the interactions between marketing associates and themselves. Therefore, women expect a fruitful interaction between store staff and consider their attitudes toward them. Women want the freedom to critically examine the products they purchase prior to buying. Women have a purchasing behavior that makes them want value for their money and desire to buy at the lowest cost available for quality (Wan, 2009). The purchasing behavior of women has really been linked with their traditional role as caregivers. Researchers have shown that even though women have had the persistent role as caregivers and their professional roles become demanding, their purchasing style has not changed. The effect of the purchasing role of women has made them view shopping as more fun and interesting. The purchasing responsibilities of women has become an ingrained a part of them that appears to never go away (Underhill, 2011). The expectation was that as evolution has occurred, women have become more entangled with professional roles and responsibilities, thereby affecting the amount of time they have for shopping and the purchasing factors they consider, but this does not appear to have changed at all. Generally, women would demand excellent service, not merely excellent products, which is a remarkable purchasing behavior. The behavior is remarkable because of an associated behavior in which women desire to remain loyal with an identified shopping destination over time (Bellman, Lohse, & Johnson, 2009). If a woman remains loyal, she expects nothing but the best from the establishment. Theoretically, brand loyalty and brand switching are phenomenon that have been associated with women. Brand loyalty is identified as a situation when a person makes purchases from a specified manufacturer or brand for a long period without switching to other brands (Bangia, 2006). The opposite of brand loyalty is brand switching in which a person chooses to routinely change brands within the brand or manufacturer (Delafrooz et al., 2010). Regarding purchasing behavior, it was noted that women engage in brand loyalty and brand switching for various reasons, yet primarily not at the same time. For brand loyalty to take place, women must be thoroughly convinced that the brands they are using are unequaled to other brands on the market. However, the equation of brands would occur only after brands have been switched on several occasions (Rodriguez, 2009). Research has shown that most women will be involved in brand switching, not as a habit, but as a strategy to settle eventually with a brand that they can remain loyal to for a long period (Sirghar, 2008). The effect of brand loyalty among women has been found to be powerful within the marketplace. It is always advantageous to get women staying loyal to a brand because women are the primary shoppers and normally a purchase made by a woman will be of the said brand. Research has shown that it is not an easy task to entice women who are loyal to specific brands to switch brands (Delafrooz et al., 2010). Therefore, competing manufacturers who want their brands to become the preferred choice of women who have already showed loyalty to specific brands must expend great efforts to accomplish the brand switch. An essential concept for women involves value for money. In purchasing dynamics of women, they want quality and value, and to preserve the amount of money they have to spend (Bangia, 2006). To cause women who are loyal to specific brands to switch brand, manufacturers must assure there is value creation and cost reduction concurrently. Indeed, the concept of value for money is not only important for manufacturers whose products are not purchased by women but also for manufactures who have two or more products on the market but will have some being patronized at a higher scale and with a higher level of loyalty than others (Rodriguez, 2009). Challenges to the Modern Woman The changes to the traditional roles of women that influence the global marketplace have not occurred without challenges to successful implementation. A number of factors have inhibited the progress rate of women’s economic dominance. Additionally, a number of factors continue to challenge progress. The first factor is the lack of appreciation for change that most women have encountered by people who oppose feminism. In literature, most of the antifeminist groups have spoken against the level of power and dominance that women are gaining, arguing that the change has been contrary to natural systems and traditions. Interestingly, antifeminism campaigns have been supported by men and women. Based on the views of antifeminist groups women should have a restricted lifestyle and way of life; the barriers must not be broken (Jansson-Boyd, 2009). Indeed, in the face of such controversy, it is natural to expect that most aspiring women will be confused with the concepts and compromise their innate abilities and talents. Another major challenge that most women face involves the guilt accompanying the changes in their traditional roles. Based on the amount of public condemnation often associated with the change from traditional roles, some women who desired to challenge economic and social tasks have actually felt that if they did, it would be tantamount to the shirking of their responsibilities. For instance, in some very traditional homes, it has been noted that women who take up reading or cooking are regarded as lazy and irresponsible. Guild often leaves women wondering if the new traditions and roles they have undertaken are really the best. In its worse forms, known religions and tribal sects exist that openly forbid women from active involvement in certain male dominated fields of social and economic life. Finally, the discussion on challenges that modern women face would be inadequate if the core issue regarding the need to combine traditional roles with modern roles was not discussed. Indeed, coupled with challenges, accusations, and guilt, the fact remains that most women continue to combine traditional roles with modern roles, and put excessive pressure on their emotional and health balance (Shohan & Brencic, 2003). Emotionally, most women when compared to men have been found to report more cases of stress (Lavin, 1993). Further research showed that career women with identifiably demanding jobs or tasks are the women who have the highest levels of stress (Orth, 2005). 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