FCB Ulka's WomanMood underscores the growing prowess of Indian women

WomanMood III uncovers the journey of the Indian woman from a true Gruhini to an Ardhangini to the all-powerful Shakti today – confident, assertive and in control of her life

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | September 24, 2015

(L-R) Arthi Basak, Kavita Gadkari and Ruta Patel

FCB Ulka has unveiled the third edition of its WomanMood study. While WomanMood 1 (2001) and WomanMood II (2006) scrutinised the Indian woman in the urban context, for WomanMood III, FCB Ulka embarked on a journey to understanding women residing in Tier 1 and 2 towns in India using its Mind & Mood technique. WomanMood is the culmination of a 15-year journey by FCB Ulka to study some paradigm shifting revelations on Indian women.

While WomanMood I and WomanMood II derived insights from a solid, traditional framework to understand the Indian woman, WomanMood III created a new and more versatile framework with the development of seven key paradigms:

1. Her self, her roles, her spaces
2. Her wishes, her worries, her adaptability
3. Her money matters
4. Her shopping
5. Her health and grooming
6. Her societal persona
7. Her dark side

WomanMood III uncovered the journey of the Indian woman from a true Gruhini, always a step behind her husband (in WomanMood I) to an Ardhangini who perceived herself to be her husband's equal (in WomanMood II) to today (WomanMood III), the all-powerful Shakti – confident, assertive and in control of her life.

Kavita Gadkari, Strategic Planning Consultant; Arthi Basak, General Manager, Strategic Planning, Interface Communications; and Ruta Patel, Head - Strategic Planning, FCB Ulka Mumbai formed the core team behind the study.

WomanMood III: Immersion and Insights

Her shopping habits

Beauty & Personal Care: The Indian woman now seems to want to look her best. While cosmetics and deodorants were discussed very excitedly, although mostly impulse purchases, women seem to follow no particular daily beauty regimes.

Food: She is the only decision maker when it comes to her kitchen. Her mother-in-law, husband and children are now the influencers. She knows 'food at home' is an important event of her daily routine and a time of bringing the family together. She is willing to innovate to create that excitement for her kids and the family. While the taste of food will be her masterstroke, nutrition is now also a key element in her cooking.

Automotive: The two-wheeler is her most reliable, personal self-ride carriage. Whether young or old, married or single, there is a two-wheeler in every home. Affordability, convenience of ride, especially for short distances from point-to-point with the added benefit of having multiple users in every household, makes two -wheelers the preferred choice. They are concerned about the safety on roads with their children as pillions and, therefore, restrict their movement on two-wheelers. The need for a four-wheeler seems distant and unnecessary for their current lifestyles.

Technology - Mobiles, Internet & Online Shopping: Mobile telephone usage is entirely functional, however, Whatsapp is really their playing field. It's all about instant chat, jokes, videos and group chats.

When it comes to Internet usage, they are wary of their usage and it, therefore, becomes need-based. It's always referred to as a mechanism that is important for more formal and official interactions, therefore, not essential for their personal use. Their older children sometimes are their conduits while surfing the Internet for information.

The younger women hold 'online shopping' flags high. Clothes, footwear and cosmetics are often searched and compared…books occasionally.

Durables & White Goods: They actively participate in home furnishing decisions. New curtains, tapestry, paint, layout changes and furniture are decisions they lead. Although her husband allocates the budgets and will finally approve.

They keenly participate in decisions regarding the purchase of white goods – refrigerators, washing machines and ACs as well. And in fact, her kitchen appliances fall entirely in her domain – mixer grinders, cooking stoves, pressure cookers and pots and pans are all her own decisions. The purchase of these essentials is mostly managed out of her monthly savings or her kitty funds.

Her Self, her roles, her spaces: The woman today feels better about herself and what she can manage for her family. She is a lot clearer about her own identity within her family and external groups. She has incorporated the rest of the family whether her husband, children or even in-laws into providing a new meaning to her entity and role within the family. Her 'me-time' often revolves around her friends, some shopping and her hobbies.

Her wishes, her worries, her adaptability: Educating her children well is her strongest desire. Educational milestones like 10+2 and graduation are now considered the basic minimum and only when it is upward from here can she dream of a glorious future for her children.

The unequivocal intent for women to work across all age groups was impressive. This mindset was not necessarily from a financial standpoint, but rather from the ability to partake in important family decisions and a sense of power in her role.

Her money matters: Her husband controls the purse strings yet she budgets, manages and quite often negotiates for more money towards necessary expenses. In a way, it may seem like the husband is plainly speaking the 'money making machine', while she herself may well be the 'employer'! She prides herself at being able to manage her limited funds prudently and managing to sneak in a 'savings' at the end of the week or month.

Her health & grooming: Keeping fit and healthy is not a top priority for women unless there is medical attention required. Women today also seem to fight a losing battle to convince her husband about keeping fit with regular exercise. So she keeps a check through the food she cooks for the family. Their kid's health is paramount with mentions of nutritious, home-cooked meals.

Her societal persona: She strives to keep a respectable image for herself and her family. She wants to be socially visible at gatherings – weddings, temple visits, community functions – to underline the togetherness of her family. This, according to her, is a measure of having a successful family life.

Social networking is by far the most popular hangout with younger women and stokes some curiosity from the not-so-young as well.

Her dark side: Recent happenings in the country have made her resilient and have pushed her to a point where she would like to take these issues on safety very seriously.

She takes vicarious pleasure even through her entertainment – it's no longer bouquets for the 'saas-bahu' sagas. Those seem passé now with reality shows doing the trick to win her chuckle.

To sum it up, a woman today face daily challenges like she has never experienced before. Not just the world around her, but she also has her share of personal trials and self goals to identify and conquer.

Methodology

The WomanMood III study was carried out in the cities of Jaipur, Meerut, Nagpur, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Vijaywada, Madurai, and Coimbatore. Women in SEC AB across three broad age-groups were interviewed:

• 18-24 years (unmarried)
• 25-34 years (single or married, with or without children, working or non-working)
• 35-50 years (married with older children)

The interactions were carried out through 25 Mind & Mood workshops and 18 in-home meetings.

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