On Nurturing A Fresh Gender Perspective
Set in our ways and enmeshed in our day-to-day work lives, it can be very difficult to stay on top of larger cultural trends. My re-energizing trip to San Francisco last week for a building industry conference reminded me of how important it can be to put yourself into, and share your work in, random and new situations. Within those few days, I managed to have some incredible conversations and make great contacts with men and women who share my fascination with a big cultural shift: the changing gender perspectives in marketing and management.
A few examples of what bubbled up:
- Sometimes you need to seriously consider firing 20% of your workforce (especially those in sales). Even if they are incredibly experienced, they can’t be reached about changing culture because they don’t believe they need to learn about it. These folks, men or women, will literally be the ones in the room who lean back and cross their arms as they listen to new ideas. Bring up gender discussions in your next marketing or executive gathering and take a look around.
- A person’s gender perspective may be very influenced by their generation. Within those few days in San Francisco, I talked with people from Gen Y, X and the Baby Boom, and noticed very evident differences in opinion. The Baby Boomers I spoke with seemed interested in the discussion, but said a lot of “yeah, but…” To them, gender issues are evolving, but there is still a little bit of resentment that may cloud their judgment or keep them from seeing they need to get up to speed. The Gen X and Y folks I talked with said gender roles/stereotypes had never been a big issue in their lives. That being the case, many men vs women conflicts can seem irrelevant to them and thus, be a lower priority consideration for either product or marketing efforts, whatever the industry. So, be aware of who your end consumer really is. If you are going to “market to women,” be clear on whether you need to be visible or transparent. Especially for younger generations, if you can’t commit to your own research, the default should be “transparent.” (See my book, Don’t Think Pink, for more on that.)
- What a person says isn’t always what they feel. When selling to a couple, engage with both parties, but pay perhaps a bit more attention to the questions/comments and tone of the female (whether she is being assertive with her input or not), as well as her body language. The same goes for focus or conversation groups. Even with women-only studies, a few participants will be more physically and emotionally engaged. These women will share the real scoop in most cases, because they are passionate about it – while the others may just be following the “leader.”
Finally, for one that has less to do with gender and more to do with expanding your general perspective: Be open to overhearing and engaging in a bit of the conversations around you (where appropriate), especially in relaxed places like tea or coffee shops. A friend who is a digital media expert and I had just gotten together to share an hour of catching up on Thursday. In the middle of our discussing how cool it was that Susan Orlean, an author we followed, was talking about gender roles on Twitter (a conversation that was then covered by a Salon post), a young man from the group of three guys sitting next to us chimed in saying that that he loved her work, as well. And, he hadn’t realized she was on Twitter. Our two parties ended up talking animatedly for quite some time about our various work projects, and then swapping business cards etc. The energy we created together and those ideas came out of nowhere.
Anyway -
At this point in history, saying or thinking “we’ve always done it this way,” means you’ll miss out on the powerful but subtle clues to better reaching today’s savviest consumers, male or female. They don’t know what “always” is and aren’t interested in a history lesson. How can you be right there, right now, with a message that fits their current life experience?
A fresh perspective is key to delivering relevance, so do what you can to train yourself to see the gender differences and similarities that truly matter.
