Carl, I'm hanging with you this CEDIA....

Ok Carl,

I'll buy your 2 cents on why women are not breaking down the doors of the local custom A/V shop to work with you. Please tell if you think that the industry should change this? If so, how can the industry change this?

I hear it quite a bit acutally. It really is a pleasure to know a woman that is 'into' tech type things. Even if she isnt 'in' to every aspect, she gives me plenty of latitude with my interests.


Sorry, I married her. :-)

I agree with AHEM. I think the outside perception is that this industry is a "guy thing". Gidgets, and Gadgets, much like hand and power tools, have always been considered things guys like to do. When building my home my wife never even asked where the speakers, cable/sat/ethernet/phone jacks where going. She didn't care a lick about the central vacuum system until I showed her the kick plate in the kitchen. Most women's approach to the CI world is "they just want it to work, and work easily!" "Let me pick the paint, carpet, and cabinets.

So Sc0tty, Do you think your wife would have been more involved with the a/v system if you had a woman salesperson to talk with her? In addition, would you have spent more money on a/v stuff if she were more involved in the selection of the a/v system?

Stereotypically it's a guy thing. My wife and I will go to Cedia but she flys in for the show after my classes just so we can hang together and be away from the kids. She is bored out of her mind and will generally opt out and go shopping - something I don't get at all.

So Penny, next question you might ask is how many male interior designers do you have on staff (that are not, um you know, gay).

Just like most of my clients' wives she has very little, if any, interest other than enjoying the music and maybe an occasional movie that it produces. Even most women we set up systems for are minimalists when it comes to particularly the cost of equipment (because furniture, floor and wall coverings make a home to them, first). In wall speakers and RF remotes must have been inspired if not invented by guys with complaining wives. They don't mind hearing and enjoying it a little bit, but they will typically rather do without it if it's stacked up in a big pile or hung on the wall like egg crates.

I count a guy lucky that has a wife that begs him to take her to a Nascar race. We're just a little different, that's cool.

Just an update, my wife just read this post over my shoulder and commented that after looking at three booths at Cedia it's all the same to her. She goes for the food, the movies, souvies for the kids and the company (and the shopping).

She likes our new one button MX-850 too cause she prefers to enjoy the experience, not "work" a system.

Although I have no interior designers on staff, I have worked with many professional interior designers. All of them have been women.

So I guess your vote, Steve, is to leave the women out of the industry because they prefer it that way. Is that right?

Some industries just have a higher proportion than others. For us, the interior designers tend to be 50/50 women/gay men. All the women are proud to be women, all the guys are happy to be gay. I just happen to be neither.


I'm not voting, it's an observation. Both door and invitation are open. You and your girl friends can come too.

The question is: Is this what lotsa girls want to do? Proportionally no. I don't want to go shopping for fun or design clothes either.

So what's on your mind?

don't know what Steve thinks, but can tell you what I think.


I think it does not matter, the industry (any industry) should be open to every one, and reacting the same way to everyone. If women want to get into it, cool, if not, you cannot force them. I think on average guys tend to be more gadgeteer then women, and that tends to be reflected in the jobs, this tends to be more a gadget job, know some specs, like playing with electronic gear.... I don't think it is possible (or fair) to try and make a job be more "girl friendly", all I can think is make sure it is not unfriendly.


As for the math part, I disagree, I have a masters in Math and when I was studying there were a lot of girls, I would say it was 50/50 and possibly the gals outnumbered the guys.

Now this is a very broad and general statement, but I think women are their own worst enemies, let me ask you this and to Julie as well. If you needed to classify the feedback you got from males and females on your career choice, in degrees of positive , indifferent and negative, what would the result be from guys and what would it be from gals? My guess the gal side would be more negative then the guy side. Having grown up with three sisters and having seen magazines geared towards girls and women, I think women, in general, care more about what other women think and more apt to criticize something slightly different in other women.

I have been in this industry since 1987 and I have found that it is definately a "guys world" and I have had to fight almost every step of the way.

As a salesperson, I found that being female was a disadvantage. Many men would not take my advice simply because of my gender. I had to prove my knowledge and expertise over and over again, that is, if I was allowed an opening.

I posed the questions here because of some industry people were saying that women salespeople would be an asset to the A/V industry and dealers in general. I wanted to test the validity of this assertion.

I do appreciate all the responses.

I found my wife to be a great closer for the wives.
She did not talk about the tech stuff. What she did talk about was convenience, music everywhere and the equipment being hidden. These were great bullets to close a wife.
Generally I would meet with the husband, get his ego list. Then do a walk thru with his wife and mine (would tell his wife "I brought mine along to make sure that I did not make any aesthetic mistakes"). If you (the sales person) listen to her you can up the ticket [AND] better the margin. With the women talking between themselves, discussing topics other than gear the ability to bring up lighting control & multi-room A/V was easier.
Once the wife is on board the rest is easier.
This industry in order to become more of a necessity most evolve from a boys club and accept and encourage women into our ranks. It will make us all more money.

somewhere is a statistic that shows women sell more than men can in the electronics world ... or that could be urban myth.

I don't think the issue is why don't more women WORK in this industry, I think the issue is why don't women BUY more?

If you look at a lot of men in this industry, their first jobs were at electronics stores, and that's where they got their interest in electronics. I wonder if more of the big-box retailers hired girls on the floor, those girls would grow up to have more of an interest in technology ... and they'd buy more plasmas than purses.

In other words, electronics retailers have the opportunity to create a whole new customer base.

I totally disagree with you on this one Julie!

You make the argument that guys get their interest in electronics working in an electronics store. So, how many 14-17 year olds have you seen working at electronics stores? I use the 14 to 17 age range because that is where the boys start thinking and working on putting amps in cars, want a great sounding stereo system, etc.

My point is that the boys end up at the electronics store because they were interested in electronics in the first place! People apply for jobs where they want to work! You won't see many guys apply for jobs at the cosmetics counter, but many girls will apply there. Does that mean cosmetics companies need to get more men selling cosmetics?

"Does that mean cosmetics companies need to get more men selling cosmetics".

If they want to increase market share. They do and they are.

It's true, my observations form my opinions. In this case, I would buy a stereo and have it installed by either gender. I am more interested in whether or not they can assist me in solving the puzzle I have come to them with. That is how I approach my clients, male, female or otherwise. Gender is really a non issue for me.

As for winning people over in sales, I believe that's a barrier we all deal with in varying degrees. Our industry is generally viewed the way we view used car salesmen - and for good reason. This isn't an honest salesperson's fault but we just have to deal with it. That's why referals are ultimately the best way we build our businesses.