On the March 8th of 1857 the first women workers went down the New York City streets under the motto “bread & roses” to fight for their professional rights. Since then, every year in this date, it’s a commemoration of the role of the women in the society and their fight for the equality and independence. In this sense, the role of the women in the call center has supposed the start of the change for the collective.
Going back in time, although the work of women in the contact center reached its peak in the 1920s with the so-called “cable girls”, its origin takes back a long time ago, with the arrival of the telephone and the hiring of the first telemarketer.
Emma Nutt was the first telemarketer; pioneer in the sector, she already stood out in front of their masculine co-workers, due to her feminine qualities to confront the phone relationship with the customers. Just a few days since she started her work, her sister followed her steps in her professional career.
And since then, the presence of the women in the sector has done nothing but grow. In 2020, according to the study about the situation of the contact center created by The CEX Association, 71% of the people which are part of it are women. The reason for this predominance of women in the contact center would return us to the reasons for the success of the first telemarketer.
The qualities of a woman to have a satisfying experience
The increase of the feminization of this sector were already been noticed with Nutt, who stood out because of her soft voice tone, polite and patient. The empathy and sensibility when dealing with the delicate incidences are some of the strong points to offer a satisfactory customer experience adapted to every customer. With the arrival of the technology, the feminine profiles have proven a major capacity of adaptation and team work. All of that has favoured the presence of the woman in this job position, since the beginnings until this day.
Nowadays, in addition to the flexibility that this profession provides, the responsibility and the commitment to a job well done has promoted a bigger professional development for women in the customer experience sector. Although the presence of women in senior management positions is less common, there are many women who manage and coordinate contact centers on a daily basis.
The leadership of the women in the contact center
As from the consumer’s point of view, connecting with a brand is crucial to establish the fidelization/loalty with the client, the leadership of the women in the sector of the contact center and experience of the customer stimulates a more daintiness in the customer service.
In addition, as the study made by Inbox Research proves, women provide a more strategic vision when working based on results, as well as having a bigger capacity to understand the requirements of teams. This study also highlights that companies that focus on a better way on the customer through these aspects are 60% more profitable than their competition.
In Spain, nowadays, there are many femenine profiles leading several contact centers. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve the visibility and recognition of the work carried out by the women in this sector.