Rethink her:Learning to think

like a woman

Barcelona March 3rd

PrettyLittleHead

1The science of femininity

2Organisational culture and

connecting with women3

Feminine communication

1The science of

femininity

Human beings process information

in two different ways:

Systemising and Empathising

Systemizing: Input: Operation:

Output“Systemising is the drive to analyse,

explore and construct a system.

The systemiser intuitively figures out how things work by extracting the underlying rules that govern the

behaviour of a system. This is done in order to understand and predict the system or to invent a new one”

Empathising

“Empathising is the drive to identify another persons feelings and

thoughts and to respond to them with an appropriate emotion. It is

done in order to understand another person, to predict their behaviour,

and to connect with them emotionally”

50% ‘ambidextrous’20% systemising adept20% empathising adept

5% either end of the spectrum which presents as illness

On average, men tend toward systematic

approaches

On average, women tend toward empathetic

approaches

Why are women more

likely to be empathisers?The science of

femininity

Advances in medical technologies

Preparedness by scientiststo interrogate

accepted wisdoms about human nature

3 recent dramatic revelations about the nature of femininity

Endocrinology:Stress responses

i

Accepted wisdom about human

responses to stress

Defend directly against source of

stressFlee from source

Fight or flight

Feminine Stress response

Disclose and share fears

Bond with others around source of

stress

Tend and befriend

Brain structure:Decision making

ii

Two accepted wisdoms

about human decision making

It’s all rational (pre 1970’s)

It’s all emotional (post DiMasio)

Intellect

Feeling

Action

Corpus Callosum

Two accepted wisdoms

about human decision making

It’s all rational (pre 1970’s)

It’s all emotional

(post DiMasio)

Feminine decision making

It’s Holistic:

RationalEmotionalSensory

iiiEvolution:

Survival Strategies

Accepted wisdom about human gene survival strategies

Competitive impulses:

Gain access to matesGain control of

resources

Survival of the fittest

Feminine gene survival

strategies

Nurturing vulnerable

Risk AversionCreate

communitiesAttend to

environment

Create safe havens

Two Worldviews

Solves problems by

Makes decision with

Focus in relationships

AnalysisArgumen

tPrioritisi

ng

Competitive impulses to

achievecontrol

Relative positionin hierarchy

Linear, logical,

Single-lined information

CollaboratingCo operating

Talking

What is sharedwith others

Empathetic Systematic

Motivated byCreating

safe havens(devoid of risk)

Deep, detailed, rational and non

rationalinformation

2Organisational

culture and connecting with

women

Spotting a systemising culture

Spotting an empathetic culture

Most (big) organisations are

systematic (particularly those who produce and

sell ‘systems’)

Financial Services

AutomotiveTechnology

And this systemising preference, evident in internal culture, shapes the way they

present to their customers

(irrespective of their mental preferences)

Their promises are based on

competitive advantage

They’re built on ‘if a then b’ logic

They’re after control: Locking the customer in and the

competition out

And they seek to impress

with shows of strength…The

Worlds Favourite

Airline

The Ultimate Driving Machine

The Best a Man Can

Get

The World’s Local Bank

All of which is highly motivating for the

systematic audience

But when targeting empathisers, systematic

organisations expose a limited feel for

empathisers’ motivations

The secret of marketing to a female audience?

(even if your natural inclinations are systematic)

Develop all activity out of the empathetic

3Empathetic

Communicationa

Mirrors female interestsb

Mirrors female language

aMirroring female

interests

Altruism Code

Connecting Code

Aesthetic Code

Ordering Code

Ordering Code

Risk aversion, the need to reducecomplexity in decision

making, the desire to create a context that feels in good order

Connecting CodeThe need to tend and befriend.

The need to build and feel part ofcommunities of shared interest.

Aesthetic Code

Heightened sensory perceptions. The need to create environments

that feel safe.

Altruism CodeAn others focus.

An interest in shared concerns.

b Mirroring female

Language

Male and Femalediscourse

Subject Matter Things; facts People; feelings

Social Currency Jokes, factoids, sport Gossip; observation;

real life examples

Pattern Escalation; exaggeration Getting beneath and under

Form Soundbites, headlines Detail; nuance; texture

Unspoken Establishing status by Building closeness by

Outcome competing sharing

Masculine Feminine

Communication that builds closeness

with women…

Creates interest through people

Speaks like a person

Dirt is Good

Every LittleHelps

Evokes the emotions,

provokes the senses

Goes beyond just saying – actions speak louder than words

Is expansive vs. reductionist

Visual language

Differences in Aesthetics

Boys

Moving objects and vehicles

Heavy use of brown, black, dark colours

Bird’s eye composition

Girls

People (especially girls and women)Natural objectsBright coloursGround level

composition

Source: M.Lijima; Hormones and Behaviour 40. 99 – 104.

Differences in Aesthetics

Women Talking with women

Brand talking

with women

3rd parties talking

with women

Speaks with

women in their

channels

Systematic Model

Makes propositionsSells by offering advantageWorks facts and features

upAdmires single-lined

decision makingPrides itself on technical

differentiationBroadcasts

Analyses the customerMarketing as front of house

Operates top-down

Empathetic Model

Shares interestSells by showing

understandingWorks people first and last

Appreciates multi-dimensional decision

makingPrides itself on customer

understandingConverses

Allies with the customerMarketing throughout

Builds bottom-up