[hackerspaces] How Do You Bring In Women?

[Lokkju Brennr]

Matt,

I wasn't knocking salons.  if a someone hasn't experienced some fo their
services, they really should try it.

Loki


On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 1:24 PM, Matt Joyce <matt at nycresistor.com> wrote:

> The severe irony of this rant is that NYCResistor used to go to a nail
> salon for cocktails all the damned time.  Male and female members
> inclusive.
>
> =/  Inadvertently worlds have collided.
>
> On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 10:21 AM, Lokkju Brennr <lokkju at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Now, listen to yourself:
> >
> > It seems like many day spas get men through the doors but scare them off.
> > The SalonBar has a slightly different problem - men simply never show up
> in
> > the first place!
> >
> > Of the 750+ people who have come through our doors, perhaps ten have been
> > men. I'm wondering how to increase this.
> >
> > I can't figure out why - our marketing mix of Twitter, Meetup organic
> > traffic, flyer campaigns, word-of-mouth, and presenting at relevant
> > Meetups/collectives have worked wonders, but are only bringing in
> females.
> > None of these are really female-oriented, which makes the results odd.
> >
> > We run two open houses a week, sell off-the-shelf and custom at home
> > personal care kits, have two beginner/intermediate classes on hair, nail,
> > skin, etc care per month, and have a social/games night every month. Our
> > members do nails, hair, massage, makeup, skincare, etc. Interest and
> > attendance have been at an all-time high, but again, all female.
> >
> > So, I'm wondering what the SalonBar needs to do to get a better balance.
> Are
> > there events/classes that attract more men? What marketing works/turns
> off
> > men? Might our location in a busy mall be scaring boys away? Is this
> even a
> > problem?
> >
> > Men of the salon universe, how did you find out about your current space?
> > What event brought you in?
> >
> > For what it's worth, our 'stickiness' with men may even be better than
> > women. Of those ~10 men who've shown up, one is a member and two are
> diehard
> > class and open-house addicts who come back very often. Almost all of our
> > members are married or in committed relationships; either way, we're a
> > pretty classy and non-creeper bunch that I can't see scaring anyone away.
> >
> > It must be awkward being the only man at a salon, and I'd like to get a
> > critical mass to make anyone, no matter what demographic, more
> comfortable.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 1:00 PM, Zack Freedman <magikazoc at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> It seems like many hackerspaces get women through the doors but scare
> them
> >> off. The MakerBar has a slightly different problem - women simply never
> show
> >> up in the first place!
> >>
> >> Of the 750+ people who have come through our doors, perhaps ten have
> been
> >> women. I'm wondering how to increase this.
> >>
> >> I can't figure out why - our marketing mix of Twitter, Meetup organic
> >> traffic, flyer campaigns, word-of-mouth, and presenting at relevant
> >> Meetups/collectives have worked wonders, but are only bringing in dudes.
> >> None of these are really male-oriented, which makes the results odd.
> >>
> >> We run two open houses a week, sell off-the-shelf and custom soldering
> >> kits, have two beginner/intermediate classes on Arduino, RasPi, etc per
> >> month, and have a social/games night every month. Our members do
> >> programming, woodworking, electronics, soft circuits, circuit bending,
> etc.
> >> Interest and attendance have been at an all-time high, but again, all
> male.
> >>
> >> So, I'm wondering what the MakerBar needs to do to get a better balance.
> >> Are there events/classes that attract more women? What marketing
> works/turns
> >> off women? Might our location in a converted warehouse be scaring girls
> >> away? Is this even a problem?
> >>
> >> Women of the hackerspace universe, how did you find out about your
> current
> >> space? What event brought you in?
> >>
> >> For what it's worth, our 'stickiness' with women may even be better than
> >> men. Of those ~10 women who've shown up, one is a member and two are
> diehard
> >> class and open-house addicts who come back very often. Almost all of our
> >> members are married or in committed relationships; either way, we're a
> >> pretty classy and non-creeper bunch that I can't see scaring anyone
> away.
> >>
> >> It must be awkward being the only girl at a space, and I'd like to get a
> >> critical mass to make anyone, no matter what demographic, more
> comfortable.
> >> --
> >> Zack Freedman // MakerBar // Hardware Hacker from the Near Future
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Discuss mailing list
> >> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> >> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >>
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> >
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