Is Internet Marketing Gender Biased?
From the time that I started in the Internet business, I’ve heard that Internet marketing is a level playing field. That your race, gender, age, economic status, and business size don’t matter. After 18 months in the business, I disagree with that statement.
From what I’ve experienced and witnessed, Internet marketing is as gender biased as most businesses and professions.
Now before you decide if I’m right or wrong, or just another woman complaining, ask yourself these questions:
Of all the email lists that you are on, what percentage are from women?
Of all the products that you’ve purchased, what percentage of them were created by women?
Of the email promotions that you receive, what percentage of them are for products by women?
Of the sites that you frequently visit, what percentage of them are owned and operated by women?
How did you learn about the sites that you visit? Was it from an email recommendation by a man for another man? Was it from a site owned by a man recommending another site owned by a man?
Is Internet Marketing Just Another “Good Ole Boy Network”?
It appears to me that the “good ole boy network” is alive and well on the Internet. In fact, the only women that seem to be doing well are women who are “one of the boys” or who have a male mentor, and they are few and far between.
Now by mentor, I don’t mean someone you pay to give you advice and aid. I mean someone who believes in your abilities enough to want to take you under a wing and guide you to success.
I’m always reading about some man, who attracted a successful man Internet marketer as a mentor, and achieved almost instant Internet marketing success. I can’t think of one instance of reading of a man who mentored a women Internet marketer just because he recognized her abilities and potential for success.
When I was young and just starting my academic career, a man told me that every person should hire or help people they are most comfortable with. “I’m most comfortable with men,” he said. “So that makes a man better qualified for the job.”
That seems to be the philosophy of successful Internet marketing men. They help other men because they are comfortable with them. They are chums.
So where does that leave the women? Are we not as smart? Are we not as capable? Are we not as teachable? Or is it that we are just not as “chumable” for men?
Is Internet Marketing Gender Bias Deliberate or Inadvertent?
Now I’m not accusing the men Internet marketers of deliberating discriminating against women. Most gender bias in the business and professional world has not been a deliberate attempt to block women from success. Instead, it’s been men choosing to “chum” and help other men, not even noticing the potential of the women.
It’s not the deliberate discrimination that’s so damaging because most people recognize that kind of gender bias as wrong. Instead it’s the choice to work only with people like yourself, which usually means a man helping another man, without ever recognizing that women are even there, working just as hard, bringing just as much skill and talent to their work, and just as willing to build relationships.
What Can You Do About Internet Marketing Gender Bias?
The next time you read your emails, or a recommendation for a site or a product, think about whose recommending whom and why? Consider the effect of those emails and recommendations on Internet marketing as a level playing field. Is it really level or just another business in which women don’t get an equal opportunity?
If you are a successful Internet marketer, look around for talented, hard-working women. You probably won’t have to look beyond your own list. Consider mentoring or just chumming with one or more of them. Bring women into your network.
If you still lack that kind of power but object to gender bias in Internet marketing, there’s still plenty that you can do. Sign up for free products by women. Subscribe to their lists. Read their emails, and buy their products. Judge for yourself if products by women are just as good as those by men.
If you want to start this minute, you can get my free report by completing the form below:
And you can get my dvd, my clicking the link in the upper left corner. You may even want to check out my Profiles and E-books for sale.
And don’t stop with me, there are many capable women Internet marketers with free reports, email lists that offer good information, and great products for sale. Who knows, in your fight against gender bias, you may learn to be a better business person and a better Internet marketer!
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Posted 7-22-08: Internet Marketing Is Gender Biased
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