There is plenty of data illuminating the positive effects regarding the growing share of women in the business world.

The fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in America is women, who are launching businesses at 1.5 times the national average. When you let women be themselves in corporate settings, good things happen, according to a report from the Harvard Business Review. Even Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” fame says that of his 27 companies, only the ones with female CEOS make him money.

But Nicole McMackin, president of Irvine Technology Corp., which specializes in information technology staffing and solutions, worries that similar progress in gender diversity isn’t being made in technology.

“There’s at least one simple reason why women have proven to be a positive boost for business: we’re half the population – a tremendous floodgate of talent has opened in recent decades,” McMackin says. “And, yes, we tend to have a different take on things, which has proven valuable. For example, women are generally more sociable and tend to excel in a group dynamic that enables them to flourish, which helps others in the group.”

Unfortunately, in an already male-dominated sector, gender distribution of STEM Bachelor’s degrees shows women falling behind.

McMackin discusses the value of women in corporations and technology.

• It’s more than identity politics. A recent lawsuit exposed Silicon Valley and how challenging that environment can be for women, which is bad for business. Why? Women are the lead adopters of technology, according to Intel researcher Genevieve Bell, and Dow Jones found that successful startups have more women in senior positions than unsuccessful ones.

“Again, we’re half the population and we have plenty to offer the tech field,” McMackin says. “We’re good for a tech team’s culture and for tech users.”

• As more women lead businesses, the boys’ club will need to adapt. More women are starting companies, and those who are leading have been doing well. This may lead women business leaders to wonder why most of their tech divisions are dominated by men.

“Also, it may be that business leaders want more of a collaborative environment, which could be greatly facilitated by a technology professional who is a woman,” says McMackin, whose company also specializes in staffing.

• Educators see the importance of emphasizing STEM for girls. Sierra College has been holding its annual Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) event to encourage high school girls to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). Similar efforts continue to be made to encourage girls into the tech field.

Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians, according to research by McKinsey & Co.

“This is an ultra-connected, multi-generational, multi-ethnic and global business world we’re dealing in today,” McMackin says. “We need all the talent, perspective and insight that we have. Encouraging girls and women to be themselves within the STEM and STEAM space is the smart thing to do.”

The post Gender Diversity Would Greatly Aid In A Male-Dominated Field, Tech President Says appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is guest contributed post by Deidre Bakker-Riches, owner of a boutique marketing firm and consultancy, Twlv31 Marketing, and the Head of Communications for Las Vegas advertising agency, Up All Day Creative Solutions (originally published by Mobile Leaders Alliance).

Whether you are a working-woman, mother, wife, or everything all in one, women have a lot of their plate these days. Fortunately with advances in technology and the help of mobile devices – which many women consider to be the new fashion accessory – we no longer have to rely on a bulky day planner or handwritten to-do list to help keep us organized. From work, appointments and bills to shopping, working out and more, here are 7 mobile apps that can be lifesavers when you’re pressed for time: 

Mint: Money Manager, Budget & Personal Finance

From Intuit, the makers of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Quicken, Mint gathers all your financial information into one place and automatically categorizes all of your transactions, giving you the whole picture in a way that’s easy to view and understand. You can add the accounts, cards and bills you’d like, then see how much money you have, pay bills, receive alerts and reminders, track your spending patterns, investments and more. Mint is great for women who need a little assistance to keep their finances organized and want to create and maintain a monthly budget for you and/or your family.

Mint is available online or you can download the mobile app on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Amazon for free.

Dragon Mobile Assistant

Don’t have time to constantly write emails and texts, add reminders or even do the occasional social media update? Dragon can essentially be your virtual personal assistant — and does a much better job then Siri. The app can quickly recognize and transcribe your words, then it will create and send emails and texts, create calendar reminders, and post updates to Facebook or Twitter. Dragon can also search the web, check traffic and weather, share your location and more — a true timesaver.

The Dragon Mobile Assistant app is available for free on Android and Dragon Dictation is available on iPhone.

Grocery iQ

Grocery IQ includes all the features you would want in a grocery app, including a barcode scanner, list sharing, and integrated coupons that can be emailed or added to your loyalty card. The app stores and organizes your grocery list, as well as tallies up your total bill before you get to the checkout counter. And, if you are like me and buy practically the same items each week, the favorites list will help you save time. You can also edit your list online and it will update automatically on the app.

Grocery IQ is available online or you can download the mobile app on iPhone and Android for free.

Allrecipes Dinner Spinner

Let’s face it — coming up with a dinner recipe every single night can be a daunting task. That’s where the Allrecipes Dinner Spinner comes in. The app gives you instant access to Allrecipes’ collection of member-shared recipes with step-by-step cooking instructions, photos, ratings and reviews. In addition, the Dinner Spinner allows you to keep track of what food items you have at home in a virtual pantry, scan items at the grocery store with your smartphone to find recipes that you can make with that item, or you can use the Dinner Spinner (on iPhone only) to have the app create a recipe for you.

The Allrecipes Dinner Spinner app is available for free on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7.

Find My iPhone & Find My Android Phone!

We take our phones with us everywhere these days, so it’s inevitable that we may eventually forget or lose them. Regardless if your phone was left at a restaurant, movie theater, or your child is just playing hide-and-seek with it, Find My Phone apps makes it easy to pinpoint the location of a missing phone so you can easily retrieve it.

Find My iPhone is available for Apple devices and Find My Android Phone! is available for Android smartphones.

MyFitnessPal

Whether you are looking to lose or maintain your weight or simply see how many calories you burned during your last workout, the MyFitnessPal app makes it easy to log your food and exercise from anywhere. Plus, all updates you make on your iPhone or Android devices will automatically be synched with the website platform (and vice versa) so you can see your progress at anytime.

MyFitnessPal is available online or you can download the mobile app for free on iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.

Perfect365 – One-Tap Makeover

Last, but certainly not least, is the beautifying Perfect365 app. We’ve all had those days when your photos are plagued with dark circles under your eyes or maybe you just didn’t have time to put on makeup at all. This wonderful app lets you easily add or enhance your makeup, erase under-eye circles, brighten and smooth our your skin, whitening your teeth, remove any blemishes, and you can even try out a new hairstyle. It just takes a couple minutes and the results look quite natural. And, if you really like one of the touched-up photos, you have the option to purchase the high-rise version so you can have it printed and framed.

The Perfect365 app is available for free on iPhone, Android and Windows Phone or you can download it on PC or Mac for $49.99.

Although this just grazes the surface when it comes to all of the great mobile apps that are available, utilizing just one of the seven options is sure to make a woman’s busy and face-paced life just that much easier.

The post 7 Mobile Apps That Can Help Make a Woman’s Life Easier appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The research, sponsored by KS Mobile, explored “gender bias” in phone choice. And that’s what they found – a strong gender bias.

A solid 45 percent of women questioned expressed a preference for Apple’s iPhone, leading Samsung and BlackBerry, among others.

For men, on the other hand, their preferred smartphone provider is Samsung, though not by the same commanding percentage that women prefer Apple’s iPhone.

The top percentage among men was Samsung’s 33. However, again there was one outlying age group that didn’t want to go along with the male crowd. Men aged 50-59 preferred Apple (34 percent).

“Overall,” reads a report summary from CNET, “Apple was the preferred brand of 39 percent of the respondents, with Samsung still 10 points behind.”

The post Forget Mars and Venus! Men Are From Samsung, Women Are From Apple appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

These pressing questions and many more are addressed in a new infographic from Internet Service Providers.

While the majority of adults in the US are plugged into some sort of social media outlet, not all of them are used in equal measure, and not all of them are used by both genders equally. For instance, the average Google+ user spend just three minutes per month on the network, while the average Facebook user will spend 405 minutes per month updating statuses, posting pictures, and checking out others’ profiles.

So what can be learned about men and women in their social media exploits? Check out the infographic below to find out.

The post Infographic: Social Media’s Battle of the Sexes appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.