#68: Broken at the seams, convince a skeptic of the wage gap, self serving bias, and $500
If you're ready for trade show season and you know it, clap your hands.
In edition #68 of The World's Best Newsletter:
1. Broken at the Seams
2. Marketoonist caption contest
3. Want $500? Refer a content marketer
4. How to convince a skeptic the pay gap is real
5. Self serving bias
6. How Russian Trolls Operate
7. Quote of the week
1. Broken at the Seams
I wrote a super quick recap post from my trip to Chicago. Read it here: "Broken At the Seams - The Road Ahead for Marketers from ModernCX 2018"
2. Marketoonist caption contest
Now's your chance to show off your clever wit. Tom Fishburne, known fondly as The Marketoonist, is holding a caption contest for his talk at the Marketo Marketing Nation Summit in only a few days The winner will be announced live on stage, and receive a signed and matted print of the cartoon with their winning caption. More here.
3. Want $500? Refer a content marketer
My friends at Building Engines are growing their marketing team, and seeking a wordsmith of a content marketer to help them continue to lead in their category. Great team, exciting space. If you're looking, apply here. If you know a B2B content pro looking for their next Boston adventure, refer them through me - and $500 is yours if hired. Read more about the Content Marketing Associate role.
4. How to convince a skeptic the pay gap is real
In 2016, US women earned $0.80 for every dollar earned by a man (pay equity by 2059). Black women make $0.63 for every dollar (pay equity by 2124). Latina women earn $0.54 cents (equity by 2233.)
But, Ellevest found only 61% of men believe the gender wage gap is real, compared to 83% of women.
(Note: This isn't like the f*cking easter bunny... your belief is not necessary.)
But, because we're mature adults deserving of civil discourse... if you encounter a non-believer, this article busts six of the most common arguments:
Women leave the workforce to have kids (they only do so bc of a lack of paid family leave, and when they stay, the pay gap still exists.)
Men work harder and longer hours (this data only covers FTE, and women who do the "unpaid second shift" of domestic care on top of their day jobs are penalized)
Men are more educated than women (nope, women earn 56% of bachelor degrees and are surpassing men in the number of earned masters/doctorates. Yet, they are still paid less at the same level of education)
Women aren't skilled negotiators (women are less likely to negotiate, and studies show women are viewed unfavorably, more likely to see a blowback. However, women can't negotiate their way past gender bias and discrimination.)
Men pursue higher paying careers ("It's not so much that men and women are choosing higher and lower paid fields and that's just the end of the story - when women do a job it's valued less, and when men do a job it's valued more.")
$0.20 barely makes a difference (It's $10k a year.)
Read the full article - and share if someone in your life needs more facts than fiction about a very real issue.
Eyeroll.
5. Self serving bias
Katie the armchair psychologist is back in action!
This week I found myself digging into this fascinating defense mechanism, the self serving bias.
"We judge others by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions."
Self serving bias is our tendency as humans to blame external forces when bad things happen, and give ourselves credit when good things happen. It's a way of protecting our self-esteem that holds us back from learning from our mistakes.
E.g. you launch a campaign -- it succeeds. You believe it's because you worked hard. If the campaign fails -- you blame the data, those dumb buyers on the other end, or sales for not following up. Anything but you.
One benefit to this bias is that it keeps people going in the face of adversity, but man does it warp our perception of reality:
From this article: Psychologist Tony Greenwald’s cited some very amusing examples of the self-serving bias, taken from a San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle article on the explanations drivers gave to their insurers after an accident. You’ll notice that some of these people went to remarkable lengths to deflect blame:
“As I approached the intersection, a sign suddenly appeared in a place where a stop sign had never been before. I was unable to stop in time to avoid an accident.”
“The telephone pole was approaching. I was attempting to swerve out of its way when it struck my front end.”
“A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.”
“My car was legally parked as it backed into the other vehicle.”
LOL. mmmkay.
We're all guilty of it. The antidote is to take a balanced view of success - and failure.
6. How Russian Trolls Operate
This easy-to-watch, quick video explains exactly how Russian trolls do their thing. This is a must-watch - it's not only wildly important, but deeply interesting:
"Russia's bigger goal has always been to create chaos and distrust within American society. They want Americans to distrust the media... and become more polarized along race, class, and social issues. If America is overwhelmed with internal conflict, we'll be too distracted to become an obstacle to Russia's global ambitions."
What to do? Don't engage, vote like your life depends on it (engage in democracy), work through the things that divide us and reinforce the things that connect us.
Watch, share - and educate a friend.
7. Quote of the week
"Is curing patients a sustainable business model?"
- Goldman Sachs in a biotech research report - CNBC
#Capitalism
----- It's trade show season! -----
Over 42,000 new products are launched every year. 70% of them fail. Learn how to avoid that statistic in Boston on April 27 at the Product Marketing Community -- #PMCBoston event! Save $50 with code "BOSTONCONTENT"
I have passes to day one of Marketo's Marketing Nation Summit this year. April 29th - May 2nd in San Francisco. Email me!
May 2-4, the 4th annual Content Marketing Conference comes to Boston. I'm sharing the Master of Ceremony duties with the illustrious Jon Burkhart. 20% off your ticket: CMC18MARTELL
I talk social + video at Brightcove's PLAY event, May 20th - 22nd in Boston. Save $50 with code "BOSTONCONTENT."
Let's talk femvertising at the Chief Marketer event, Marketing to Women in the #MeToo Era, June 19th in NYC. Save the date, I'll send a link to register when it's live.
I'm pumped to participate in the #B2B Marketing and Sales Feud at #FlipMyFunnel 2018. Come cheer me on! Details and promo code in this blog.
Have a great weekend, and thanks - as always - for reading The World's Best Newsletter.
Best,
Katie
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