International Women’ Day – A key date for marketing
March 8th is globally celebrated as International Women’s Day, honoring the social, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. We can all acknowledge that many changes and major improvements have occurred in the past years in terms of gender equality, however, there’s more work to be done to create a truly equitable professional and social environment. Due to this, people seem to be more keen on looking up “gender equality” topics, and learn more about related topics.
If you look at the top 6 “how to” search queries related to gender equality from the past 5 years, you will find the following: (Source: Google Trends)
People are more sensitive about these issues. Many people want to get informed, read more and try to make their own change in the world. But how has the position of women in marketing evolved in recent years?
Women in Marketing
With International Women’s Day around the corner, I’m taking the opportunity to outline the importance of women in the online marketing world.
I was quite shocked when I found out that women occupy less than a third of the total workforce in digital marketing. (Source: Digital Skills Gap Report). One of the struggles that women in marketing face is the clear lack of representation in the sector.
Wordstream conducted a survey which rendered some very interesting results regarding gender bias in online marketing. After asking their clients their satisfaction with their Google Ads account representatives, women representatives all scored under the mean level of satisfaction. Whereas men on the other hand, were almost all above the average. The most interesting part of this is that when looking at the performance of the Google Ads accounts of the clients, those who were represented by women received Grader scores that were, on average, 9 points higher than their male counterpart. As stated by Larry Kim on Gender Bias in Online Marketing:, “Data Shows Women Are Undervalued by 21%”, these results do not necessarily show that women are more capable in digital marketing, but that they have to work harder and put more effort in order to be seen as equals to men.
The data given by the analysis led to the conclusion that there is a 21% gender valuation gap. This gap can be reflected in various cases, for example:
- Getting interviewed for a job.
- Getting chosen for a job.
- Getting a promotion.
Some thoughts for retailers
As a retailer, if you wish to make a change and be a part of the world’s progress, it’s imperative to think about how you want to engage with your female customers. How are you targeting women in your ads? Are you showing adequate respect? Are you considering women as the influential individuals they are or linking them to outdated stereotypes? Brands who consider women as strong and powerful individuals, and decide to take a stance against the stereotypes, are gaining more and more respect, admiration and loyalty from customers. There’s certainly been a revolution in this concept.
Reflections
International Women’s Day shouldn’t just be another holiday or an opportunity to sell Frida Kahlo shirts or other merchandise. Instead, it’s a good opportunity for each of us to reflect and think about his/her own attribution to make the world a bit better for all women. To fight discrimination and bias up to the point that his/her power permits it. I’m certainly elated by the progress that has been made for women in general, however, I strongly believe that there is still a lot of room for improvement. Afterall, we are marketeers, we are promoting and selling hopes and dreams!
👉As Mother’s Day is getting closer, don’t forget to take a look at these ideas for your marketing campaigns. And to not miss any important dates for retail, download our marketing calendar here.
And now… Check this cool infographic!
