The Gender Gap

A few weeks ago at the Canadian Sponsorship Forum, Norm O’Reilly and his team released the final results of the 2013 Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS). Norm also released a white paper asking if there truly is a “gender gap” in the sponsorship industry in Canada. This arose from a discussion I had with Norm after the 2012 SMCC Western Sponsorship Congress™ and the fact that, during the 5 Minute Pitch™, all the brand decision makers were female and almost all the properties were being represented by females. Norm took this information and built it into his study this past spring.

As Norm notes, women buy most of the products, make or influence most purchasing decisions, and account for about 50% of the working population. In addition, he notes that more than half of the university students studying marketing are female, but that females are underrepresented in our industry (except at the SMCC Western Sponsorship Congress™–obviously!). In the first six years of the CSLS, in all the questions, reports, quotes, etc., there is only one specific mention of women.

Norm’s further investigation through the 2013 CSLS found that almost 56% of employees in our industry are female, yet only just under 15% are in primary decision-making roles. On the volunteer side of our industry, women account for less than 50% of the volunteers. But on the agency side of the business, females represent over 83% of the workforce.

The study also showed less than 20% of the sponsorships in Canada even target women and more than 60% of the survey respondents reported that they did not primarily target women in sponsorship.

In my mind, we truly have an industry that might be showing in the general landscape that there is no gender gap. About half the people in the industry and half the volunteers in the industry are women. And when we look at the agency side of the equation, women dominate the landscape and the gap is truly female heavy. But when we look more deeply, as Norm also notes, I see three major issues-and they are major.

First, there is definitely a gender gap when it comes to decision makers in our industry. Less than 15% of the primary sponsorship decision makers in Canada are women. The examples of those who lead the pack in Canada today are outstanding. For example, the key decision makers on the brand side at our financial intuitions are almost all female. The financial institutions spend more than any other sector and this is successfully delivered by female leadership. There are other sectors in retail and other brand areas, as well as properties such as sport, where the primary decision makers are female and icons, leaders, and role models. So the women who do hold these positions in Canada are exemplary. The issue in my mind is that we are not searching deeply enough to find more women to fill such important roles. There needs to be gender equality at the top levels as well as in the lower level “in the trenches” roles. I am not proposing that women be elevated to these roles to diminish the gap, but I think we need to look harder to find those women and provide them the opportunity to lead.

The second area of concern for me is that our industry has failed to maximize opportunity in delivering sponsorship to women. Traditional marketing channels such as TV, radio, outdoor, etc. have all embraced the fact that women are the purchasing decision makers in our society. Their vehicles to brand products tend to focus on the female skew… and successfully. But in our industry, we are lagging behind. Less than 20% of Canadian sponsorships target the primary decision makers in our country… women. I think those brands and properties that place more emphasis on this experiential marketing channel of sponsorship to females will win over an audience and leave their competitors in the dust. Sponsorship delivers results through emotion. We need to direct that emotion-based marketing channel we all work in more effectively toward women.

And finally, those in the industry who wield influence need to make a difference. At conferences, let’s showcase the women of our industry equally with men rather than have a speaker line-up that is dominated by men. To those in our industry who conduct studies and research-include information, questions, and queries about the roles played by females in our industry. To those who design and develop marketing and communication campaigns-seek out how you can influence women through the power of sponsorship marketing. To those who are in a position to hire primary decision makers-look more deeply and see where a woman can deliver the results as well as or better than the male you are leaning toward.

Women have truly proven themselves in our industry. Some of the most influential and largest budgets are controlled by women. We just need to take all this to the next level.

These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well. Please add your thoughts or comments below. Thank you for reading and your feedback.

Brent Barootes

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