Maria Shriver has just come out with an extremely illuminating report on woman and how they live and work today. Some key messages:

• Now for the first time in our nation’s history, women are half of all U.S. workers
• Mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in 63% of American families.
• We are in the midst of the one of the greatest social transformations of our time yet many institutions rely on outdated models pertaining to who works, when/how they work, how much they get paid, and who cares for families.
• This social transformation is affecting nearly every aspect of our lives—from how we work to how we play to how we care for one another

What makes up this transformation, what does our culture think of this and how have they responded? See more here.

Following the Impact Trail to the Training Industry
This report expertly sheds light on perhaps another reason why the training industry has seen robust growth in this century. Certainly companies have needed training to continue to grow, retain/procure talent, meet regulatory needs, or increase market share, productivity and capability through emerging technology but could it be that a cultural transformation occurring thirty years previously and extending into this century has been an additional catalyst that has impacted all the commonly held reasons the training industry has grown to date?

What Has this Meant and What Will This Mean for Learning Design?
From the voice of a woman learner:
“I need it any time. I need it from my pc, laptop, phone, ipod, and if possible from my kitchen sink.”
“Don’t have time—please get to the point and make it relevant to what I do.”
“I may need it later–I have kids to pick up—make it searchable; make it current.”
“I’m inclusive. Can we find out what others are doing by sharing best practices.”
“How can I get ahead. What are the key topics or skills I need to performance better and how can I build my skills quickly.”

The woman learner label is not gender-specific…it is socially specific.

Does your organization consider the needs of men and woman employees in context of their social needs? Do you design your learning programs, products, courses with an eye towards performance AND social needs?