A report from comScore paints a clear picture of the information superhighway, and women are in the driver’s seat.  Statistics related to social web use show more women visit social networking sites than men (75.8% of women vs. 69.7% of men).  Furthermore, women spend 30% more time on social networking sites than men do.

Another interesting point from the study reveals that while 47.9% of unique visitors to social networking sites are men, women consume far more content and spend more time engaging than men.  For example, comScore explains that women, “consume 57% of pages and nearly 57% of total minutes spent on these sites.”  Women also spend more time on social networking sites than men — 5.5 hours per month for women vs. 4 hours per month for men.

But these statistics don’t just paint a picture of social web usage in the United States.  It turns out that women are in the driver’s seat on social networking sites around the world.  In Latin America, North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, social networking reaches more women than men.  The highest reach to the female and male audiences can be found in Latin America and North America, with Europe coming in a close third and Asia Pacific a distant fourth for both genders.

There can be little doubt that women are spending time on the social web, and they’re not simply consuming content.  They’re engaging with other people.  Advertisers have been slow to figure this out, as have employers.  However, the social web also presents a unique opportunity for women to build their personal brands and use that platform as a tool to put them in the drivers’ seats of their careers, too.  Just as companies are learning to build brands and sales through social web engagement, individuals can do the same.  Women are fortunate to already have many of the innate skills needed to be successful on the social web.

So what are you waiting for?  Put the key in the ignition and get your career in gear with social web engagement.  I’ll see you on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!