There is a group in France called La Barbe or “The Beard” that advocates for more women on boards in that country. Apparently the women show up in disguise (yes, wearing beards!) at annual meetings to let these female-few companies hear a piece of their minds. The women wear the beards for fear of retribution and being found out. French lawmakers are giving some thought to requiring at least 40% of boards to be made up of women within six years. A similar law exists in Norway where quotas exist. In France, 9 1/2 percent of boards have women compared to 12.2% in the US and 34% in Norway. Learned about this in Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Interesting way to advocate for greater gender equality in the board room or should I say beard room. Advocacy exists in all places and for all kinds of causes. Advocacy is genderless.
Tags: Advocacy, board members, La Barbe
We’ve been looking deeper into the differences between male and female advocates from our research on Advocacy. We will continue to report on some of these findings on this blog. One that recently caught our attention could easily be titled, “Company actions speak louder to women than to men.” As seen below, female advocates are significantly more likely than male advocates to recommend something to others if they feel engaged and hear about actions that signify a company’s behavior of responsibility or character. A company’s philanthropy, cause-related behavior or environmental actions matters more to women than men. Companies that want to attract the support of women should amplify their corporate responsibility activities and do what they can to articulate the company behind the brand. Advocacy is all about finding your passionate supporters and arming them with what matters to them. Women advocates want the details before they commit their advocacy.
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Men
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Women
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What motivates a recommendation to others…
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%
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%
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Personal experience with a brand or product
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71
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78
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What the company behind the brand or product does to protect the environment
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23
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37
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Whether the company behind the brand or product contributes to causes I care about
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17
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29
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Whether the profits from a brand or product benefit a cause I care about
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18
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27
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Motivated to support an issue/cause by charities that benefit community
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34
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41
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Tags: charitable causes, company behind the brand, engagement, environment, Female advocates, Male advocates, purchase decision-making
