The $12 Trillion Female Empowerment Narrative Opportunity - and its Exploits

Last summer, well before the election, before the current state of affairs, I wrote about marketing to women and the growing trend of companies who play to the popular narratives of female empowerment and gender equality in their ads.

Here’s the latest example of a company doing so at arguably one of the largest opportunities to earn exposure, both by the sheer size of the viewership and the buzz around ads leading up to the event - the Superbowl. (Go Pats)

Click to watch video.

No hiding from hypocrisy

But, Audi is one of a few companies who is not exactly practicing what they preach, with zero women on its management board, and only two executives out of 14 who are women. They might be claiming pay equality, but it may not be enough as consumers are speaking out.

Granted, it is trying — the company said it is publicly "committed to supporting women’s pay equality, as half of the candidates for graduate internship program must be female," and in response to the lack of women on its management team / board, saying "We have pledged to put aggressive hiring and development strategies in place to increase the number of women in our workforce."

Yeah yeah. Hey, I give the organization due kudos for responding to the negative comments coming in. But maybe this wasn't the best narrative to hitch their wagon to, on this campaign, if their stats weren't ready for the scrutiny.

Global perspectives of the problem

In a survey that should shock exactly zero people, men globally don’t think there’s a problem in equally between the sexes. 

(Yes, many of you do in North America. I see you. Thank you. We're talking globally.)

Fewer than half of women around the world believe they have the same opportunities as men, according to a new survey. In contrast, almost two thirds of the men think there is equality of opportunity among the sexes.

A recent Pew Research study found the same thing, that overall, support for gender equality was higher among women, those with more education (at least a secondary education in emerging and developing nations and at least a postsecondary education in advanced nations) and, in Europe and the U.S., those on the left of the ideological spectrum.

"In 24 of the 38 countries surveyed in 2015, women were more likely than men to say that gender equality is highly important. In many cases, the gender gap was substantial. For example, there was a 25-percentage-point gap in Tanzania, where 73% of women placed a strong importance on gender equality, compared with 48% of men. Pakistan, Uganda and Senegal also had gender gaps of more than 20 points on this issue.

But in many of the countries where support for women’s rights was highest, there was no significant difference in the views of men and women. For example, 93% of women and 90% of men in the U.S. and Australia said it is very important that women have the same rights as men. And 94% of men and women in Canada held this view."

So what’s to come on this topic? Aren’t we done talking about it? 

Well, no. Here's why.

In another sobering study, the World Economic Forum says it will take 170 years for women to be equal to men. The annual review looks at 142 countries, and evaluates women’s standing in the world based on four indexes: educational attainment, health, political empowerment and economic participation.

If things continue at their current rate, it’ll take another 170 years to reach gender equity, the authors say. 

"Closing the economic gap remains the biggest challenge for several reasons. More women than ever are working, but they’re still responsible for the bulk of the household chores and caregiving for both children and the elderly. Men do, on average, about 34 per cent of the unpaid work that women do. And it’s a gap that starts early — girls worldwide spend about 30 per cent more of their time on unpaid work. This limits women’s ability to earn as much money as men and to grow in their profession, even as they work about an hour longer each day than men do. Female-driven fields also tend to pay less than professions that are dominated by men."

But one bright spot

Based on current trends, the education-specific gender gap could be reduced to parity within the next 10 years.

And in some regions of the world, the gender gap is narrowing much faster. South Asia could close its gender gap in 46 years, Europe in 61 years and Latin America in 72 years. The Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia and North America are making the slowest progress.

A $12 Trillion opportunity

During the recent Women’s March, one out of every 100 Americans, more than three million people, marched. 

This, as argued by a BNY Mellon and the United Nations Foundation report, is not just a political demonstration. It’s also indicative of a larger chance to tap into a multi-trillion opportunity by investing in companies that are gender-diverse, led by women, or providing services that help advance gender equality.

When women run companies, they're proven to create more opportunities for more women to advance. Countless studies have validated this. Read them.

In fact, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that narrowing the global gender gap could add $12 trillion in annual gross domestic product.

Looking for the Return on Equality? Here it is. And, in many cases, here it isn't. (Looking at you, Audi.)

From time to time I write about women's issues, business, life, and marketing. Are you subscribed to my newsletter?