How did you come up with the idea for your book "Women Want More"?

I wanted this book to be based on the largest quantitative research ever done on women worldwide, and I wanted it to be not just about American women, but a global book. [We surveyed] 12,000 women in 21 countries, and more are coming in the questionnaire on the website (www.womenspeakworldwide.com). The book is a business book, looking at all categories of spending, particularly emphasizing the categories where women have dissatisfaction. These are: financial services, healthcare and consumer durables.

What don't women like about the financial services sector?

They don't like that when they meet with their husbands and advisors, the advisors give the husbands 90% of the attention. They don't like that the advisor never looks them in the eye and doesn't answer their questions. They don't like the way that information is conveyed. Advisors use fake language and they deliver it in a way that does not meet the woman's expectations. She expects to be informed and she expects to be treated with respect, and neither one of those things happen. Nearly 50% of women say they feel pressure related to managing household finances. Forty-seven percent of women say they are dissatisfied with investment providers; 46% say they're dissatisfied with banking services; and 44% say life insurance providers don't meet their needs.

What are the consequences of this behavior?

The vast majority of women are not [using financial advisors], even women with $1 million or more in assets. A majority of women at all income levels think the financial services category is the worst in terms of satisfaction, in almost every country. That's because financial services companies are run by men and they tend not to make women a priority. In 32% of two-income households in the U.S., women make more money than men, and nobody acts like that's the truth. Over the next five years, women will earn an incremental $5 trillion as they become increasingly educated and move rapidly up the professional ladder. This income spike will rival the growth of China and India combined. This isn't speculative. It is about a population that you can actually see. It is a fact that you will have rapid growth in this income pool. Anyone who doesn't look at it and say 'I want my piece' is a fool.

When an advisor begins to work with a woman client, what does he need to understand about her, and what questions should he ask?

She's probably had a bad experience. You need to say, 'I'm here to help and want to listen to your needs,' then you want to draw her out. Do not push products on her. Most financial advisors have preset answers when, in fact, what the female client is interested in doing is having a dialogue.