Recruiting GenX Women
So the Always Done It That Way crew is made up of five GenXers (if you haven’t figured that out by now). Three men, two women…all of us are consultants and all of us are business owners. With this said…
Very recently I attended a professional association conference (of which I am a member) where the membership is all women. I belong to a few of these groups, so identification will be difficult (although several of these groups are dealing with the same issue). They want to recruit young GenX and millenial women from to join the organization and to eventually be on the Board. Many associations are discussing the issue of how to recruit “younger” members. I can’t speak for my entire generation, but I do have some insight on recruiting GenX women….so here it goes.
Some Background -
The Board of this organization is mostly women 50 and older with a couple of token 40-somethings. Basically the female version of the “old white male” Board structure we see in the association world. The Board selected a keynoter for the conference who spoke about generational issues using data that was at least 10 years out of date - and again, an over 50 white female. The requirements to sit on the Board include attendance at the two annual conferences the organization hosts plus a whole bunch of other hoops. From an educational point of view, the content at the conference is weak - thus few people beyond senior volunteer leaders attend. Sessions are led, again, by Boomer+ women and this time a few minority women are included in the bunch.
Are you seeing the picture yet?
The one saving grace - the Board did have enough insight to hire a GenX female Executive Director (that get’s it). Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much guidance they really take from her. But I do have to give the Board credit for recognizing that they need to make significant changes to the organization to exist going forward.
I think you can begin to see my point here, but I’ll continue….
So after the first day of the conference I can’t tell you how many Board members pulled me and other token GenX participants aside to ask how the organization can do a better job of recruiting members “like us”.
Here is my off-the-top-of-my-head snap shot of what your association is competing with right now. And keep in mind GenX women are dealing with many of the same issues.
GenX women are of child bearing age. I happen to have two small children (2 1/2 and 11 months) - and miss them terribly.
A husband who likes to see my face occasionally versus our long daily string of instant messages.
A growing business (and travel quite a bit) - the office manager often questions who I am.
A large family and a group of friends - all of whom wonder where I am most of the time.
A stack of 50 great business books and industry publications sitting in my office that I want to get to.
A laundry list of business questions I want answers to NOW, not in six months when the next conference takes place.
Frankly, many of these issues are not GenX specific. However, I would add the following general characteristics…
- My generation of women is the first to fully view ourselves as peers and equals to our male counterparts. Title IX helped with that. And, we are the first generation to graduate in larger numbers than men. We expect equality with men AND women - and frankly everyone.
- We watched our loyal Boomer+ parents get fired and laid off from companies they spent their whole lives serving. So we’re not too interested in “organizational loyalty”. You will have to prove it to us that participation in your association is truly valuable to my professional goals.
Two big business isssues for me now - (1) how to create a business “dashboard” that include financial and other data that relates to a growing consulting practice. AND (2) I want to meet three to five other business consultants who have growing consulting practices. I want to get in a room with them for a day and pick their brains. However, this format is not available at the conference. Just a whole bunch of speakers spreading their “wisdom” about business issues.
So to sit on the Board or become a more senior leader within the organization you are asking us GenX women to spend $500+ on registration, $200+tax a night on hotel for three nights, plus travel to attend a two-day conference with questionable content? All so I can sit on the Board to “represent” the GenX crowd and possibly help you fix your “recruitment” problem?
Here is my free advice on your “recruitment problem”…
(1) Ask GenXers what it takes to get them to join a professional association. Don’t listen to consultants or anyone else - especially those with out-of-date generational information.
(2) LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. Actually listen to what GenXers have to say.
(3) Do something about it today - not create a two-year plan on recruiting GenXers - make the changes quickly.
(4) Get smart GenX members into the organization at the highest levels…and not just one token GenXer at the Board table. If that means you have to loosen some of your requirements, do so.
(5) Make membership valuable. Provide challenging and interesting content presented by a wide range of people and allow for opportunities to collaborate with other like-minded members.
If your organization takes too long to make significant changes to attract GenXers, they will go start a competing organization that meets their needs. In this day and age it’s easy to do.
Amy, this is a great post — except most of your points really have nothing to do with attracting “Gen X” members — they’re really aimed toward attracting … well, members in general. Seems to me that the problem with the organization you describe isn’t with the leaders’ age but their personalities. Makes me wonder what it is about the association that it has a history of attracting “involved members” who are so obviously interested in cocooning themselves with their friends (and assuaging any guilt by asking a few token “outsiders” what they can do to “reach out.”)
THis is not really a generational issue. Also, I can’t for the life of me figure out why you belong to this awful group with their boring meetings and short-sighted leadership.
I had the same thoughts as Kevin while reading this post. As someone on the tail end of the Boomer generation, I would want the same things you do, and have many of the same constraints on my time (minus the kids). It sounds like this organization needs to get in touch with its membership–all of its membership–if it wants to be something more than an old girls’ club for a few elite members.
Thanks for the great comments!
Surprisingly enough - at the chapter level, our Northern Virginia group is really fabulous and offers great programming and networking opportunities. I happen to be on the Board for the local chapter because I have found it so valuable. But, in order to be a member of the local chapter you have to join the national organization as well — thus my membership. BTW - I attended this conference because it was held here in Northern Virginia.
On another note - I feel comfortable complaining (loudly) about these issues because I am also trying to do something about them. I am not one to toss a grenade and run. I’m hoping that I’ll toss the grenade and forget to pull the pin.
Amen, amen, amen. I am 26, and I cannot help but relate to everything you said. Many companies don’t seem to realize that without superior benefits and a great working environment, they simply aren’t worth giving 10-20 years to. Fortunately, I happened to stumble into a blooming company that brought some management on board that recognizes that fact, and has worked with me to grow my career. Even so, there is only one woman on the executive board, and she happens to be the wife of the chairman. In the rest of the company, there have been no women managers until the last 2-3 months. There are a select few who I think have gotten “the point” and they are trying desperately to change the culture in the company, but it’s a tough road. That’s how I stumbled across your website, looking for ideas to help change the culture. Thank you!