Say that you decided you wanted to get the help of a digital marketer. Do you envision working with a man or woman?
Interestingly, Larry Kim, digital marketer and founder of WordStream, analyzed internal company data from 2014 customer satisfaction surveys and found that, when rating the company’s account representatives, the lowest male rated higher than the highest female. He went on to analyze AdWords Grader scores for accounts serviced by women versus men and found that those serviced by women scored an average of nine points higher. In a blog post where he shared his analysis, he attributed these discrepancies to gender bias. Kim’s final results led him to conclude that there was a 21% gender value gap that negatively reflects on women digital marketers.
As a digital marketer who loves her career, this was hard to swallow. I was aware that women digital marketers were underpaid when compared to men — as in most industries — but it hadn’t occurred to me that there’s a glaring disparity in how clients perceive gender within our field.
What I and other women can take away from this is that we have an opportunity to push ourselves to add more skills to our resumes to position ourselves as increasingly valuable assets in the marketing field.
Seek Opportunities For Self-Improvement
I’m a big fan of reading to improve myself. I never considered myself a good writer, so I picked up a copy of Everybody Writes by Ann Handley. I learned that writing is just storytelling, which improved my confidence because I’ve always been able to tell a great story!
I also read Hack the Corporate Fast Track by Erik Newton, and from it, I learned how to be promoted fast in the corporate world. I have always been a challenge-driven person, but learning different managerial techniques has given me a new perspective in my career. In addition to enhancing our crafts, women marketers need to learn more about how to successfully be team players. Improving relationships with superiors and peers can go a long way toward moving up in any field.
Participate And Learn
According to an analysis by CNN Money, of the top five leadership positions at companies in the S&P 500, only 14.2% belong to women. With this being said, it’s clear that women leaders in business are a minority. We need to find confidence in that our voice can be heard in a room full of men. Involving yourself in activities such as public speaking can help.
I am currently reading the book AMPLIFY by Holly Chessman. I have learned that we, as women, must stop being tongue-tied. We must speak out and position ourselves as leaders. That’s why I believe that public speaking will make a big difference in our career life!
Another great way to get opportunities is to become a contributor. Writing about your experiences and providing tips for others will establish you as a leader. Building your presence online can help you to stand out. Today, it is important to be active on social media, which can open up doors to engage and to empower others. But you must also build your offline presence by assisting at events, meeting new people and learning from others to expand your network.
Participating in forums and professional groups are other ways to learn and to gain new connections. I am active on LinkedIn groups. When I don’t know or I am not sure about something, I go to my LinkedIn groups, and I write a detailed post. As a result, I get tons of opinions and many requests to connect. Don’t be afraid to ask; curiosity is an asset!
Go The Extra Mile
In my current position, I am in charge of content-focused search engine optimization (SEO), but I have gone the extra mile with tech audits. As a result, my manager is impressed with my skills, and people ask for my advice. Don’t be shy to show all that you know.
Get a mentor — somebody who has more experience than you to advise you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You will be surprised by how many good people are out there. After you have found a mentor, make sure you return the favor. I send holiday presents, emails, birthday cards. I write recommendations on LinkedIn and name them on social media, and I write articles and cite them when relevant. These are ways to build strong, long-term relationships.
Shifting Society
Recently, I listened to a podcast from Freakonomics Radio, “A Conversation with the Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi.” I was amazed by what she said about why there are a small number of women CEOs. She explained that as women in entry-level positions begin to move up the ladder, their biological clock and career clock come together. It is hard to balance family life and a high-performance career. In addition, many women have the responsibility to take care of their aging parents.
In my opinion, this is a major issue, and there is no clear solution. Instead, society, government and family should come together to find ways that allow women to balance their careers with their family responsibilities.
Things are changing now. We have the power to change gender bias in the workplace by working to earn these top positions. I believe in equality for equal opportunities and equal pay regardless of gender. People should be rewarded based on their skills and experience. I also believe that the world needs more women leaders to reach this equality. We can do it!
I encourage women digital marketers to use their passion as a springboard to embrace the challenges and responsibilities that accompany a rewarding career as a marketer. I firmly believe that women have all that it takes and more to become the top leaders in the field of digital marketing.
My advice is to build on your uniqueness and continue challenging the way you think. Expand your knowledge and creativity at every opportunity. Keep at it until good becomes great!