Vision Mondiale confirms Men are from Mars & Women are from Venus

Christmas poll reveals that Quebecers struggle to buy for the

opposite sex

MONTREAL , Nov. 4 /CNW/ - As we approach the time of year when much of the planet joins together in the universal spirit of giving, a new Ipsos Reid/Vision Mondiale gift catalogue poll of 614 Quebecers finds that when it comes to exchanging presents, men and women are very different.

While men struggle more with finding appropriate gifts for the women in their lives...

33 per cent of men say their spouse is the hardest person to buy for.

Women have considerably less trouble in choosing presents for men...

20 per cent of women say choosing a gift for their spouse is the more daunting task.

"Generally speaking," says Isabelle Depelteau, director for Vision Mondiale, "men and women find it harder to buy Christmas presents for members of the opposite sex than for other men or other women. The surprising twist is that the vast majority of both sexes prefer to give than to receive."

The gender gap widens further when Quebecers open up their presents...

Nearly half or 48 per cent of all men most look forward to a gift from their spouse, but fewer women (41 per cent) say the same. In fact, women are almost as likely (34 per cent) to say that they look forward to receiving their children's gifts the most.

But peace on earth - or at least a strong consensus among men and women - does reign on one front.

Welcome news to Vision Mondiale is the fact that 75 per cent of women and 76 per cent of men, or 8 in 10 Quebecers would rather receive a charitable gift that would help someone else.

"It's great that Quebecers value meaningful gifts that help someone else as a way of simplifying the Christmas gift-giving tradition," says Mrs Depelteau.

The Christmas gift catalogue enables Quebecers to buy on behalf of a friend, colleague or family member much-needed items for children, their families and communities in developing countries. Vision Mondiale anticipates that Hens and a Rooster will be among the most popular of the more than 80 gifts to choose from in the catalogue.

To view the World Vision Christmas gift catalogue visit www.cataloguedecadeaux.ca.

About Vision Mondiale:

Vision Mondiale is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.visionmondiale.ca.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between September 23 to 25, 2009, on behalf of Vision Mondiale. For this survey, a national sample of 2,006 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online, of which 614 live in Quebec . Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled, and +/-3.9 percentage points for the sample of Quebecers. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For further information: photos, b-roll footage, or to arrange an interview with Isabelle Depelteau, contact: Janie Mercky, Porter Novelli on behalf of Vision Mondiale, [phone], [phone] (mobile), [email protected]