In MESH’s early days, the female user base was smaller than the male user base, with about 30 percent women to 70 percent men. A nearly equal proportion of men and women make up the informal economy, so we knew this ratio was off.
We also saw that women on the platform were far less vocal. As a result, Mesh gave the impression that it was a male space and, by extension, that the business world is a man’s world.
In 2023, gender inclusion became our team’s top priority, and today—following research, experimentation, and tweaks to our design—our user base is nearly 50-50. Posts and comments by women have almost doubled, and female users are far more active in group activities and network-building on the platform. Engagement among women is now at 72 percent, from a mere 21 percent.
The changes also made the user experience better for men, resulting in better results across the board. And we did all this without significant changes to our product.
In an article for the Stanford Social Innovation Review, our Brand Director Anne Miltenburg shares six research and design tips for social networks, community builders, and educational organizations that want to support gender-inclusive entrepreneurship.
Read the article here: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/women-entrepreneurs-removing-barriers-online
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