Why is your business not attracting women as customers or employees?

Why is your business not attracting women as customers or employees?

There is a lot of conversation about creating more diversity in a workplace and organisations trying to add more women to their boards or customer base. So why is your business not attracting women or even repelling women from your organisation? 

According to ‘Advancing gender balance in the workplace: a collective responsibility’ report by Gender Balance Network read more about it here, discussing the 5 key areas of focus that could help an organisation to promote more diversity in a workplace and business. These 5 areas are:

1. Legislation and policies that governs the organisation 
2. Communication and Engagement (equality and diversity committees and networks) 
3. Flexible workplace practices (maternity leave, work-life balance, reintegration and family support)
4. Targeted initiatives (such as women in the workplace, women in leadership and women in STEM) 
5. Leadership, oversight and accountability (communicating values, creating supportive work structures, equality strategies and plans) 

In practice, however, some organisations still fail to attract more women – so where does the problem lie and what can be done about it?

One of the key factors in attracting people into your organisation is understanding the people you want to attract. Having run a women-led organisation (Women in Business Club) for over 5 years I got to closely understand women’s mindset and their perceptions. Things they feel they can relate to and what motivates their action. 

Attracting women as customers or employees through making a mindset shift 

Women want to be understood and the old paradigm and labels such as CEO, Chief Executive, and Board of Directors do not appeal to women. It feels masculine and not representative. 

Historically women have been excluded from many such roles and board rooms, so in the new decades, women started to tear down old structures and build new ones. Hence why they do not relate to various labels that many organisations still use. These indirectly scream ‘old boys club’ and in part, it is true, because you would usually still find the old structures and hierarchy in those organisations and businesses. 

Organisations that truly promote diversity and inclusion and want women in their management teams to understand the social and phycological shift in the 21st century, therefore, create much better appeal in attracting women to their organisations. 

Attracting women as customers or employees through communications 

Where can your organisation create change in the way you communicate in order to attract more women into your business? Language is important and often we do not realise that our website, emails, promotions or other marketing collateral does not appeal to the audience we wish to attract. Does it communicate in a way that appeals to the feminine gender? What is the imagery you are using? What are the keywords you are using in your communication strategy? All of these things make a huge difference. 

Attracting women as customers or employees through representation 

Do you walk your talk? Many organisations want to attract more female clients or team members, but in practice you see a lack of representation in their teams, management and the communities their foster, therefore making women feel excluded or not particularly welcome into their organisation. Is your business truly representative?

Attracting women as customers or employees through targeted initiatives 

If your organisation had more women-led or women-focused initiatives what difference could it make to your organisation? Women are more mission and impact-driven therefore the mission behind the business and their initiatives matter to us. What charities does your organisation support? How are you giving back or paying it forward? How are you rewarding people in your organisation? 

Reading this extract from Cambridge University and how they have given voice to women in their organisation to openly speak about gender equality and their experiences really shows that open conversation, transparency and inclusivity are important in an organisation that wishes to attract and maintain women’s talent and custom in their business. 

What initiatives does your organisation have around diversity and inclusion? What suggestions would you have for organisations wanting to attract more women talent and customers to their businesses? 

Within the Women Thrive Media, we strongly advocate diversity and inclusion, equality and equity. See our Diversity and Inclusion manifesto here.