Women will soon outnumber men in the workplace, but they are still largely responsible for purchasing food and other items used by the entire household, according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI).

In 1989, 85.5% of principal shoppers were female. By the spring of 2009, that figure dropped to 75.1%––indicating that that women are still the predominant purchasers of food (including food for pets), household items, and baby/children's products.

Women are expected to outnumber men in the workplace by the end of 2009, according to data cited in a TIME magazine special report on women. In addition, nearly 40% of primary breadwinners in households are women.

"Although in a financial sense, women as breadwinners are far more commonplace than they were two decades ago, they’re clearly still responsible for bringing home the edible bread and everything that goes on it,” said Anne Marie Kelly, senior vice-president of marketing and strategic planning at MRI. “Think of anything in the typical kitchen or pantry and, chances are, it was brought home by the lady of the house.”