Women treated like idiots when shopping for tech

A new generation of tech-savvy women is emerging but they are still being treated like idiots when it comes to selling gadgets, say experts.

It found that most of all, women were irritated by unhelpful and pushy salespersons.

Many simply felt dumb, even though they considered themselves smart women.

"Our female customers feel a big lack of r-e-s-p-e-c-t," admitted Dave Williams, Vice President of Research & Analysis at the electronics chain Best Buy.

"They are ignored, confused by pushy salesman. If she's disrespected, it all goes down the toilet."

The study showed that almost half of women go shopping with a man as they believed they were better treated if they had a male companion.

On their own, many women said they felt they were treated by salespersons as if they were thick, especially the younger ones.

This younger demographic, between 18 and 24, who grow up with technology and want these products, feel doubly discriminated, said Ms Heller.

They feel discriminated for their gender and their age.