Hello! Tans,

I'm not sure what reason for the "lack of women" at WA could be. I wonder if it might be intimidation. I came here after being laid off last year. I did tons of research and finally decided to take the plunge; I've learned a great deal, but no sales yet. We need to be a two income family and I don't want to go back to a job; I really want affiliate marketing to work for me. I didn't understand a lot of the terms in the beginning, but am learning more everyday. I must admit I joined in June, but didn't get started until mid August when my daughter went back to school because it seemed every time I tried to get on the computer and work she wanted me and I never could get anything done; so I know it is hard to do with the children around.

Thanks!

I would like to invite you as a buddy.

Hmm, I find that more and more women are looking for independent work opportunities, such as entrepreneurship and working from home. I didn't notice the lack of women on WA. But good that you mentioned it, if you noticed. I think the site does a fine job of catering to both men and women.

Currently, I'm home for 3 weeks as super mum taking care of my 2 sons as my wife is on holiday with our first son. Now I'learning to be a house keeper,nurse,cook,teacher and mum.

Should I say I'm the mum at home? No, a super Mum.

Two things:

1.) You mentioned pen names. Some women are here at WA under usernames & avatars that do not reveal they are a woman - probably for safety reasons in some cases.

2.) My wife is not that un-typical, I suppose. It's not that she doesn't think she could succeed at internet marketing, she KNOWS she couldn't. And she won't listen to me (Surprise!). Besides, she isn't the one who stays awake at night worrying about how to pay the bills.

Best,
Roger.

Hi Tans,

I have read all the comments and I have to agree with them. I would also like to add that I think women also feel they have more of the household responsibilities than men. For example, I can speak for myself in that when I first started this (and even sometimes still) I would find it difficult to focus because in the back of my mind I was thinking things like "I really need to get the laundry done" or "I shouldn't be sitting here when I have to get the housework done." It is sometime difficult for women to stay focused on one track because we usually have many different things going on in our minds. I found that I had to discipline myself by treating this as a real job with an area specifically for working and no other distractions. I set aside a block of time for work, just as if I was going to an actual "brick and mortar" office. This works for me and keeps me focused.

I can speak from experience that this business is HARD to work with small kids. But, I'm sure that all of us moms do this for our kids, and that allows us to keep going. I wish I could reach out to more moms and non-moms out there. I really feel passionate that this is a great business for almost anyone, especially women! There are no glass ceilings here. (Especially considering you can use a pen name, and no one will even know you're a woman...hehhe) You can write about what you love, and get paid for it! I do know that the technical aspects do hinder some people. I have a friend who isn't really into affiliate marketing because she doesn't know how to set everything up. (Though, she's very smart and I'm SURE she could figure it out easily.)

Yeah, I agree with both comments. It's hard enough to focus in silence, far less when kids are doing kid things. Women are usually the ones tending to the children. I know several women who are techies and smart marketers, who would probably do very well in this business. When I mention it to them, they say, NO WAY! It takes a certain personality to be attracted to IM, let's face it. Why more men would be interested than women, I think the previous comments are right on.

I think there are many different reasons. A big one is the "type" of time required to do this. It requires a lot of quiet time researching, writing, analyzing, sorting. Stay at home women, particularly those with small children don't have a ton of "quiet" time. They can build a craft business because the kids can screech all day long. Or they can sew smocks to sell on line because the kids don't have to be quiet. This business also requires a full understanding of how to do it before you do it. The commitment upfront is the same whether you are full time or part time.

I suspect stay at homes just look at it as too much work for the return they are looking for.

Very sorry got your name wrong, Tans
Carole

Hi Tan,
This has not escaped my attention either! I think that some reasons could be that a. Women do not see themselves as IMs and do not really understand how they can use their existing skills and knowledge as an IM and b. As women tend to place greater importance on connecting with people and building rapport they overlook IM, believing it to be cold, isolated etc. c. They write themselves off before looking properly into the opportunity, thinking that it is only for 'Tecchies' and therefore for [mainly] men
So, easy way to get to them would be to push the great feeling of connection, community from WA and overcome those self-limiting beliefs that they have - just a suggestion - funnily enough I have just written a post for my website [not yet 'out there'] on this theme
cheers!
Carole