In An Online Marketing Industry Dominated By Men, Women Are Starting To Make Inroads

There's an age-old reality we're all familiar with: gender inequality. Gender inequality dominates politics, the economy, and multiple social realms experienced in our everyday lives. Although we have undoubtedly made progress throughout the years, women are still considered (and paid) less than men, in a variety of different career roles. And with the evolution of the online world throughout the last decade, the relatively new industry of online marketing can be added to the male-dominated career list of professional positions. But with resilience, determination, and more open-minded leaders, women have begun to make inroads into this male-saturated industry. Read on to find out how.

An online survey conducted by Moz revealed some startling statistics. In 2015, 69.5% of online marketing positions were occupied by men, as opposed to women making up only 30.1% of job titles. And although the number of women involved in online marketing is slowly increasing year by year, there are still some staggering differences between genders in the workplace. Moz also brings to light that while men occupy the "high" roles of CEOs, directors, owners, presidents, and vice presidents, women are more likely to occupy the lower roles of writers, editors, and assistants. Your initial thought may be that this is obviously due to differences in education and experience between men and women. Yet in actuality, women in the field of online marketing on average have more and higher levels of education than men employed in the industry. So what's going on here?

Technical roles have been traditionally reserved for men. As women are considered more personable, empathetic, and organized, they are usually filed into lesser categories, especially when it comes to the field of online marketing. A great deal of knowledge regarding search engine optimization and data analytics are required for successful online marketing tactics, and the general consensus seems to be that men are innately better suited for these roles. This leaves women with limited leadership, responsibility, and salary opportunities. This is common in many professions, but fortunately, there seems to be an uprise of female empowerment in the online marketing industry. It's 2016: this is an era of acceptance, revolution, and progression. Online marketing companies embody these traits as part of their business strategies, so it only makes sense that they'd employ them with regards to their hiring process. Many online marketing companies have partnered with gender equality organizations, and are making strides in encouraging female inclusion and growth in the workplace. Online marketing companies are increasingly hosting events supporting women in the community, in their companies, and as professionals.

With a greater acceptance of women in the workplace, the composition of the online marketing industry is slowly changing. Women are not strictly subjected to marginal roles anymore, and are slowly taking on the previously male-dominated titles of directors, strategists, and CEOs. We're apart of an era that's more progressive and inclusive than any which have come before us. We need to continue to recognize and embody this, not only in regards to the online marketing industry, but in all other career fields as well.