#WomenWTF - Half the talent & half the opportunity

WOMENwomen

#wtf

bon jour, i’m @farrahbostic

I run...

the bad

We’re paid about 80 cents on the dollar for the same work.

We’re fewer than 5% of CEOs and corporate boards.

We’re fewer than 5% of agency creative directors.

We get ‘mommy tracked’.

So we leave - not for home, but for other work.

Some of us leave before we’re forced to...

We’re not ‘leaning in’...

What women want? The same things men want.

what we’re struggling with? the same stuff.

Pew Research “Modern Parenthood”, March 14, 2013

the truth is, the modern corporate environment

sucks for both men & women

but it’s women who will have to change it

Why?

Because we possess half of the available talent, and more than half of the college degrees.

Because we make 1/2 the purchases and influence the others, in every category.

Because we control half of the wealth, and start most of the businesses.

and yet

Women are more successful and stable entrepreneurs... but VCs don’t invest in us.

Women foster better results as executives & directors... but too few of us are promoted through ranks.

but especially

Women work, earn money, create economic growth, and control household and commercial purchasing...

But marketers and politicians treat us as a single type:

The busy mom on the go.

Weber Shandwick & KRC Research Digital Women Influencers Study 2013

We’ve seen these stats. A lot.

women & marketing #WTF

via: thehairpin.com

women laughing alone with salad #WTF

via: thehairpin.com

women struggling to drink water #WTF

everywhere you go... #WTF

#WTF

#WTF

#wtf

tech brands #WTF

seriously, microsoft?

“The campaign shows off products like the OneNote and Windows and touts features like touchscreens and affordability. But the crucial thing here is wedding bands, bridesmaids dresses, and moms providing laptops for their kids. Don't lose sight of that.”

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/03/04/microsoft_ads_show_women_focused_on_how_computers_can_help_their_wedding.html

take smartphone brands(please*)

* With apologies for Henny Youngman

mobile is 1/2 women44% of all US women own Smartphones. (Pew 2012)

54% of moms in the US own smartphones. (Nielsen 2012)

55% of US women aged 15-24 own Smartphones, leading the world in adoption. (Nielsen 2010)

Half of tablet owners are women.(Flurry 2012)

and yet, exhibit a: #WTF

2005’s SGH-E530 “specifically for the modern

Arab woman.”

Apps: fragrance/aromatherapy guide, calorie counter,

shopping list, menstrual-cycle calendar, biorhythm alarm

2008‘s Allure S LadyPhone.Apps: fragrance consultant,

calorie counter, and shopping list, SOS message/Fake Call

Came with a clutch with space for makeup, credit cards & the

phone

2010 Galaxy S Femme.A pink Galaxy S, with a complete

AVEDA traveling kit including creams and cosmetics, a travel

kit voucher, and a 4GB microSD card including an AVEDA app to

advise women on skin and haircare

oh, and not for nothing, but...

people of color also use smartphones!

why???

"[Y]ou must remember that arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, very liable to be broken; and, notwithstanding all your wise laws and maxims,

we have it in our power, not only to free ourselves, but to subdue our masters, and without violence, throw both your natural and legal authority at our feet."

listen up.

women are not...

A ‘segment’.

An ‘issue’.

An ‘initiative’ or ‘program’.

we’re not what you think.

women are...

A diverse group.

Half your customers & your talent pool.

In control of 80% of spending.

some brands get it.most of the time.

“Look at me, study me and understand me. Then, and only then, can you make my running shoes. Don’t give me a small, pink version of a man’s running shoes.

“I’m not a small, pink version of a man.”

then,‘pink it & shrink it’

now, kick ass

getty images

http://www.gettyimages.com/creative/frontdoor/leanin

ge

"My mom? She makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. My mom makes airplane engines that can talk. My mom makes hospitals you can hold in your hand. My mom can print amazing things right from her computer.

My mom makes trains that are friends with trees."

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ge-gazes-its-wondrous-inventions-through-eyes-child-155840

goldieblox

“Disrupting the pink aisle”

everpurse

So what’s the big idea? Simple.Treating women with respect isn’t just a moral issue.

Nor is it simply a legal problem.

It’s a business decision.

we might not be your ‘target’, but we’re definitely your customer.

“If a board doesn’t look at all like the market being served,

then something (Big) is (Badly) wrong.”Tom Peters

it’s simple, really.Hire women, and see business results.

Create good products for women, and see business results.

Market to women intelligently,and see business results.

how do we market ‘intelligently’?Accept that women are your customers.

Understand the context.

Fight the urge to ‘pink it & shrink it’.

Don’t assume gender matters.

Know that women also like humor (and sex).

Play to your (and womens’) strengths.

ladiez ftw