What if something as simple as your shopping habits could advance
gender equality? Would you say a) no, I’m too busy today, thanks, or would you b) empower yourself with the knowledge that could empower others?
The good news is, if you answered a) or b) and you shop for clothing with Leina & Fleur, then you’re doing your bit for gender equality even if it's unconsciously! Here’s how your buying habits are empowering the Femeconomy and making inroads towards gender equality…
Women are behind 85% of all purchases and drive 70-80%[1] of consumer spending. Yet in 2021, despite women making up 51% of the workforce, only 32.5%[2] of key management positions in Australia were held by women.
These ratios continue to drop as we climb further up the executive ladder with women comprising only 19.4% of Australia’s CEOs and 18% of board chairs.
Then there is the gender pay gap to consider. As of May 2022, there is a 14.1%[3] difference in full-time earnings between males and females with men taking home an average of $246.70 a week more than women.
Putting those figures into context, 34.2% of Australian women have bachelor degrees or above compared to 28.3% of men.
Ultimately, while women are the ones driving purchases, they effectively have less spending power and less authority to make commercial and economic decisions.
But while we have control of the bottom line, we can make our voices felt, that’s the feeling at Leina & Fleur and also the message behind gender parity advocates, Femeconomy. Founded by executive HR and management consultant, Jade Collins and Marketing and Development leader, Alanna Bastin-Byrne, Femeconomy has been striving to progress gender equality since 2016.
As well as submitting recommendations that have resulted in state governments adopting new strategies to progress gender equality, and sitting as advisorary board members on the Queensland government’s Towards Gender Parity: Women On Boards Initiative, Femeconomy has a successful TEDxQUT Talk under its belt as well as being a repeated presence on the list of 80 Women2Watch, as Disruption Honorees in Australia and the US.
On a day-to-day basis, Femeconomy works to educate consumers, budget owners and business owners on how purchasing decisions can create gender equality; amplifying the message that if we buy from brands that have women in leadership, the impact on profits will encourage other businesses to employ more women in leadership roles.
At Leina & Fleur, we've built our brand to be about more than simply women's clothing; we have developed our brand values around elevating the way women feel and empowering women to change the world by first changing our own, our alignment with Femeconomy was a natural progression.
We believe that every individual has the opportunity to make an impact and, however small it may seem, that impact has the collective power to affect change. So whether it’s as simple as continuing to shop with L&F or whether you go on to make more conscious decisions about the businesses you choose to align with, you too have the power to be an economic equaliser.
Now you've equipped yourself with the knowledge of how and why your purchase power can make a difference, go forth and point your power in the direction you want to impact.
[1] Stats from entrepreneur.com - https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-au/news-and-trends/why-respecting-women-as-purchasers-is-key-to-business-growth/329780
[2] Stats from the Australian government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency - https://www.wgea.gov.au/women-in-leadership
[3] Stats from the National Bureau of Statistics - https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/gender-indicators-australia/latest-release
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