The story of how we age is being rewritten and women are rejecting the established belief that they simply fade away after 50, and for good reason. For the first time ever in Canadian history, there are more people over 65 than there are children under 15. Yet still today, women are visible in media only until mid-life, then they become invisible.
According to a McCann Worldgroup Canada national report, 59% of women feel they are living a fuller life after 50. Women know that past 50 the best is yet to come, but marketers don’t seem to have caught on. The aging narrative of decline is deeply entrenched in our culture and is blocking us from seeing the many stages of life that play out over 50 and as a result marketers are missing a lifetime of three decades of milestones, growth and opportunity.
Called The Truth About Canadian Women, the study explores the changing conversation around women in Canada today – how they are shaping change and how this change is shaping everything around them. ‘Over 50: The Untapped Opportunity’ report that was released today is the fourth of five in a series that will be released this year on the changing roles of women in Canadian society, including in-depth explorations of how women feel about their work, household roles, aging, and media representations. View the full report here.
The research also identified three myths that are at the centre of how we view women over 50:
- They are checked out of the marketplace
- They are not aspirational for younger women
- They fade away while men over 50 continue to accomplish and thrive
In 2016, McCann Worldgroup Canada developed The Truth About Canadians – a landmark consumer research study in partnership with Ipsos. This year, once again they partnered with Ipsos to launch the follow-up to that work – The Truth About Canadian Women. In addition to the study results themselves, the research will be going even deeper by enabling conversations and debates with a wide range of influential women through an exclusive ‘Game Changer’ dinner series. The events will bring together some of Canada’s most influential and inspirational women from across the country to discuss key topics and their implications for marketers.
Starting with a nationwide quantitative survey, The Truth About Canadian Women study is designed to explore the changing lives, roles and expectations of women and their effect on the new norms in Canada. Coupled with qualitative research and interviews with key marketing industry leaders, the study provides an in-depth look at Canadian women, while taking the pulse of Canadians with respect to their opinions, values and expectations of modern brands.
McCann Worldgroup Canada plans to use the study over the coming months to provide customized marketing workshops and business applications for select clients and interested marketers in Canada.
Conducted by McCann Worldgroup Canada and Ipsos Public Affairs, McCann Worldgroup Canada’s Truth About Canadian Women study has uncovered some surprising facts about Canadian Women, that will be explored over the next several months:
- Women & Work: April 2018 – View the full report here.
Gender equality at work? Women aren’t feeling it.
76% of women believe we don’t have gender equality in the workplace
- Roles in the Household: May 2018 – View the full report here.
One home, two realities.
73% of men believe household chores are shared, while 40% of women believe they do all the work alone
- The Imperfect Portrayal of Women: View the full report here.
Best Intentions aren’t enough.
67% of millennial women believe there are too many gender stereotypes in advertising
- Women over 50: The Untapped Opportunity: View the full report here.
Past 50: The best is yet to come.
59% of women feel their lives are fuller after 50
- Raising Girls and Boys: September 2018
The promise of real change.
63% of millennial parents are raising Gen Alpha gender neutral
