Gender: who cares?

(as published in The Western Weekender, Oct 7, 2011)

According to many studies, gender lines are drawn early. Many teachers still give more attention to boys in maths and science subjects, and more attention to girls in arts and languages. Encouragement is often given to girls to participate in passive activities, and when pursuing a career, girls are often steered into pursuing stereotypical female professions such as teaching, nursing and office administration.

Interestingly, statistics show that more women than men are starting businesses, yet women only dominate fields typically viewed as female. And some women would say that gender discrimination holds them back. For example, not being taken seriously by potential clients who have pre-conceived ideas about what females are capable of.

However, many women I know use these gender pre-conceptions to their advantage in the way they market their business. For example, there are very few women in web design and development but many female business owners (and some male ones!) prefer dealing with a female. There is a perception (rightly or wrongly) that a female web designer will be easier to communicate with and takes more care in the smaller details.

Then there is the school of thought that says ‘who cares about gender stereotypes?’. I would be one of those! Although there may be larger obstacles to overcome in some situations for women in business, I think this gives women an advantage. We learn more and we’re more determined to make it work. Don’t underrate a woman in business – she’s likely to relish a challenge, understand that she might have to work harder to be successful and be ready to adapt quickly to changes.

Michelle Grice runs Dot Com Women, an online forum for entrepreneurial women: www.dotcomwomen.com.au