This is an op-ed by Tali Lindbergh, co-founder of Free Market Kids, a company focused on financial literacy and Bitcoin education.
Author’s Note: This is a politically incorrect article because I am about to make gross generalizations about men and women. If you are easily offended, you probably should not continue reading.
When I first got into the Bitcoin field, I met a woman who asked if I would be interested in starting a Bitcoin meet for women.
“I wish there was one,” she said.
At the time, I was offended by the idea.
“Bitcoin is already a small space, why would we want to separate men and women?” I wonder.
Since then, I have changed my heart.
Having participated in many Bitcoin events in different cities and states, I have noticed that women always outnumber men… by a lot! I estimate that 80% to 90% of the people I meet in the bitcoin space are men.
it’s a problem.
Women have the power to shape the future leaders of this world through their intimate bonds with their children. A child born this year may enter adulthood in a world where fiat currency is a thing of the past, and Bitcoin is the global digital currency.
However, this schedule wouldn’t be possible without more women’s consent.
In this article, I will discuss what I have observed and provide some recommendations on how to effectively introduce Bitcoin to more women.
facts vs. stories
If I asked my husband what he thought of the state of the economy, he would immediately spill the facts about how our market is not free and how the government picks winners and losers. He was talking about zombie corporations, misinvestment, how bloated the Fed is for the money supply and how the president is manipulating the interest rate, etc.
If you asked me the same question, on the other hand, I would talk about some of our elderly neighbors, and go into great detail about a recent conversation I had with a retired grandmother: standing in the hot sun next to screaming chickens we discussed their food loudly and forcefully, and we discussed the challenges of protecting our chickens from predators and planting a garden, although neither of us had a passion for agriculture.
(I can sense some of you are getting impatient with me as you read this. To get to the point, why not? What does this have to do with the question? Well, wait, I’ll get there!)
We talked at length about price hikes and how raising chickens and gardening was our way of hedge against crazy price increases at the grocery store. I’d like to tell you then that she and her husband have a stable income and about her concern is that with the way things are going, someday soon she won’t be able to buy enough groceries to avoid starving.
In my opinion, that’s what “the state of our economy” means – people’s stories. And in the presence of the guys, though so friendly, welcoming, and encouraging, I still felt pressure to cut through the details and “get to the point.” On the other hand, in the presence of women, telling people’s stories often feels natural and easy because that’s how many women explain important topics.
This is a big difference between men and women: men usually get to the facts, and women tell the stories.
Cigars and whiskey vs. Tea and biscuits
My husband and I have been on a mission to bring Bitcoin education to home schools. In all our conversations, our experience has been that 90% of women said the same thing: “I don’t understand bitcoin, I don’t think I can figure it out. My husband makes financial and investment decisions.”
Why do women, educated and intelligent on equal terms with their husbands, leave this knowledge so vital to the care of men only? Dare I say this is because Bitcoin educational materials and learning environments are heavily skewed towards the way men communicate?
Perhaps we need a women-to-women approach. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that women are not able to understand technical and factual information in the same way as men. Both sexes are equally capable. However, in our pursuit of equality, we must not lose sight of the fact that men and women differ not only biologically but also in the way they perceive and interact with the world.
When men meet, they can often exchange quick pleasantries and get straight to business. At the end of this meeting, everyone is satisfied. However, most women in the same scenarios will not feel satisfied. We need to visit first, asking about each other’s weeks, how the kids are doing and any challenges we had during the week. We exchange stories and empathize to show we care. To quote a famous sales guru Zig Ziglar“,” People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Aren’t all salespeople trying to sell the idea of bitcoin? Maybe we can take a page out of Ziglar’s book.
Why vs. What
When I first tried to read up on Bitcoin due to my husband’s insistence, I found it very frustrating. There are many books on the market, many podcasts, and a large number of YouTube videos explaining Bitcoin. However, until I understood why Bitcoin was so important to me personally, I would have preferred to do something else with my precious free time.
Graphs, graphs and angry rants about the political landscape or a corrupt system will not convince me. Although these issues bother me, I mostly attribute them to things I can’t do anything about. My schedule is already filled with more things to do than time to do. However, if you tell me a human story about someone facing difficult hardships and consequences due to the fallacies of our monetary system, my outrage at the injustice would prompt me to do the necessary research and learn how Bitcoin works as an alternative currency, not just risky speculation or perhaps a wild gamble.
To reach women collectively, we need to focus on telling good stories about the “why” of bitcoin.
It is not my intention to suggest that men and women who work in bitcoins cannot benefit from the same meetups or educational materials. Our society is currently obsessed with calling everyone some mysterious names that separate them from each other. I don’t want to play that game. I suggest that if we are aware of the audience we are trying to reach, perhaps we can craft our message differently to get our point across more successfully.
Here is an example of how women perceive men talking about why they should use bitcoin – my niece drew the following comic strip to highlight what she learned after listening to the Bitcoin podcast:
I wonder how different the comic would have looked if two women had done the podcast, even if they had discussed the exact same topics and reached the same conclusions as the hosts of the podcast my niece listened to.
Here are some suggestions based on my personal experience reaching out to women before them:
One: Angry Mama Bear!
Tell personal stories to share Why bitcoin. After the story I shared earlier in this article about elderly retirees, most people will feel sympathy for having to work in the scorching sun day in and day out to grow their own food. But if you explain to a young mother lovingly and ardently cuddling her newborn to her breast that the impending inflation means that her child will grow up to be in the same position, having to work in the field for food, you will have incited the most powerful force on earth: a mother’s instinct to protect her young. Now you will have someone excited and willing to do whatever it takes to learn about this crazy thing called Bitcoin.
Second: hosting women’s events
Remember this bookMen are from Mars, women are from Venus“?
We need to embrace who we are. Being different is a good thing, just as specialization is a positive force in freedom truly markets. Marketing a new and mysterious idea like Bitcoin can only be effective with customized messaging and delivery methods to reach different target audiences.
We understand that women and men socialize differently and feel comfortable in different environments. When women talk to women, we have more freedom to express ourselves with an ease that is not readily available in mixed gatherings. This doesn’t mean that men and women can’t talk to each other, but simply that some conversations can make a woman feel more comfortable with a woman.
Third: Less is more
Don’t puke facts, charts, and numbers at a predetermined woman. You can’t “logic” women in Bitcoin. You have to impress women emotionally with bitcoin. Ask questions about their lives and concerns and allow them time to participate fully.
Speaking less is actually more persuasive than speaking more. Allow the conversation to develop naturally to the point where they ask the first questions. This is when you know the floor is yours. Share in small portions. Maintain a low-time mindset.
It is my hope that this article helps bitcoin men connect more effectively with women and that it finds its way to bitcoin ladies who want to work together to reach other women in a way that only we can: woman to woman.
This is a guest post by Tali Lindberg. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.