Walk into almost any supermarket or scroll through a typical Instagram feed, and you’ll still find it: the soft pastels, the bubbly fonts, the endless pink packaging that seems to assume all women are a single, homogeneous group of cheerful, lipstick-wearing consumers. The reality, of course, couldn’t be more different.
Women today are CEOs and caretakers, gamers and engineers, mothers and marathoners. They are of every race, religion, age, gender identity, and background. They live complex lives, juggle multiple roles, and make informed choices. So why is so much marketing still stuck in a time warp—flattening this complexity into a singular, shallow archetype?
The answer is twofold: inertia and fear. For decades, the marketing world was built on simplified personas that helped brands segment their audiences. But these “female consumer profiles” were often based on limited data, biased assumptions, or outdated gender roles. And as the world has evolved—with seismic cultural, technological, and economic shifts—many brands have hesitated to evolve with it. The fear of getting it “wrong” has paralyzed progress, resulting in campaigns that miss the mark, or worse, alienate the very audience they’re trying to reach.
It’s time to move forward. Marketing to women in 2025—and beyond—requires more than surface-level adjustments. It requires a complete rethinking of how we understand and engage with women as multidimensional human beings. That means embracing intersectionality, building campaigns rooted inempathy and lived experience, and doing the deep, often uncomfortable work of unlearning assumptions.
What Is Intersectional Marketing?
Coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in the late 1980s, the term intersectionality refers to how different aspects of a person’s identity—such as race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, and age—interact to create unique experiences of discrimination or privilege. In marketing, this means understanding that not all women experience the world (or your product) the same way.
An affluent white millennial mom in San Francisco does not have the same needs, fears, or aspirations as a Gen Z Latina freelancer in Miami or a Black grandmother raising grandchildren in Detroit. Yet far too many campaigns lump all women into one of a few generic profiles: the “busy mom,” the “career woman,” the “beauty junkie.” These archetypes are not only reductive—they’re lazy.
Intersectional marketing rejects this one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it asks: who are we really speaking to? What are their unique challenges? How do their identities shape the way they see the world—and the way they experience our brand?
To answer those questions, brands must shift from marketing at women to marketing with women—aprocess that includes research, listening, hiring diversely, and involving real women in product design, testing, messaging, and storytelling.
The Business Case for Inclusion
While inclusion is a moral imperative, it’s also a strategic one. Women drive the majority of consumer purchasing decisions—controlling or influencing up to 80% of household spending across categories from groceries to healthcare, cars to technology. Moreover, according to Nielsen, multicultural women—Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous—represent the fastest-growing consumer segment in the United States.
Ignoring the diversity within this group means ignoring enormous market potential.
Case in point: the personal care brand Lola Getts was created specifically to serve plus-size women who were tired of being excluded from the mainstream activewear conversation. Rather than offering a few extended sizes as an afterthought, Lola Getts built its entire brand around inclusivity—designing, marketing, and modeling for larger bodies from the ground up. The result? Loyal customers, strong sales growth, and a brand reputation built not on hype, but on belonging.
Other success stories include Fenty Beauty, which launched with 40 foundation shades and changed thebeauty industry overnight, and ThirdLove, which pioneered inclusive bra sizing and real-people modeling long before it was trendy. These brands didn’t just check diversity boxes—they centered it as a core value. And they won, financially and culturally.
Lessons from What’s Working
Let’s examine a few more brands that are setting the bar for inclusive, intersectional marketing to women.
1. Aerie (American Eagle)
By retiring airbrushing and featuring models of all sizes, abilities, and backgrounds, Aerie became a leader in body-positive marketing. Its “#AerieREAL” campaign resonated because it felt genuine. These weren’t just diverse bodies—they were paired with real stories and community-focused initiatives, such as supporting eating disorder awareness and mental health nonprofits. The campaign drove a double-digit sales increase and dramatically boosted brand affinity, especially among Gen Z consumers who value authenticity and social responsibility.
2. Billie
The women’s razor brand Billie entered a crowded market dominated by legacy brands like Gillette and Schick. But by showing women with actual body hair and launching the “Project Body Hair” campaign, Billie signaled that it wasn’t just selling razors—it was challenging the notion that women’s bodies should be edited, hidden, or censored. Billie’s campaign wasn’t just inclusive—it was subversive in the best way, earning praise across media outlets and converting millions of first-time buyers.
3. Olay’s “Face Anything”
Olay’s empowering campaign highlighted women in STEM, featuring astronauts, engineers, and scientists in their ads. It tackled the stereotype that beauty and brains are mutually exclusive and challenged long-standing gender biases in advertising. It wasn’t just about broadening representation—it was about expanding the definition of beauty and ambition itself.
These examples show that inclusive marketing isn’t about optics—it’s about intention, authenticity, and alignment. When your campaign reflects real values and lived experiences, women notice—and they reward that effort.
What Fails, and Why
Conversely, many brands continue to stumble by relying on tired tropes or shallow gestures. Tokenism—featuring a diverse face in an ad without any meaningful inclusion behind the scenes—rings hollow. So do campaigns that suddenly “celebrate women” during Women’s History Month or International Women’s Day, only to return to business as usual the next week.
Another major pitfall is performative empowerment—sometimes dubbed “femvertising.” These are campaigns that borrow the language of empowerment but fail to back it up with action. Think: using slogans like “You go, girl!” while lacking female leadership, exploiting women’s insecurities to drive sales, or advertising inclusivity without offering inclusive products.
Consumers, especially women, are increasingly savvy. They check receipts. They read executive team bios. They know when they’re being pandered to. And they are more than willing to call out hypocrisy on social media.
Moving From Optics to Action
So, what does it take to move from good intentions to great execution?
1. Start with Research—Real, Deep Research
Go beyond traditional focus groups and segmentation. Use ethnographic studies, one-on-one interviews, and community-based research to understand how different women experience your category. Partner with organizations already doing the work—especially if you’re navigating identities outside your own leadership’s lived experience.
2. Hire and Empower a Diverse Team
Diversity isn’t just about how you market—it’s about who’s in the room making decisions. If your marketingteam doesn’t reflect your audience, your campaigns won’t either. That means hiring women of different races, ages, body types, abilities, sexualities, and economic backgrounds—and listening to them.
3. Design With, Not For
Involve real women in product design, message testing, and creative development. Go beyond surveys—co-create. Women are tired of products and campaigns that feel like afterthoughts. The best ideas come when brands design with their communities, not just for them.
4. Audit for Consistency
Intersectional marketing isn’t a campaign—it’s a practice. It must show up in your visuals, copy, customer service, leadership, and corporate values. If there’s misalignment, address it head-on. Trust is built through consistency.
5. Be Willing to Evolve
Language changes. Cultural context shifts. Representation expectations grow. Inclusive marketingrequires a commitment to continuous learning, openness to critique, and a willingness to get uncomfortable.
A Better Future for Marketing to Women
The future of marketing to women is not only more inclusive—it’s more accurate. When brands move beyond stereotypes and start engaging with the real complexities of women’s lives, they not only build stronger customer relationships—they build better businesses.
This is not about erasing femininity or rejecting what traditionally appeals to some women. It’s about expanding the canvas. Making room for more stories. Validating more truths. It’s about building a worldwhere every woman can see herself—not as a target demographic, but as a valued human being—with needs, strengths, and dreams that matter.
So, the next time you’re planning a campaign “for women,” ask yourself:
- Are we representing a full spectrum of identities?
- Are we backing empowerment with action?
- Are we listening—or assuming?
- Are we telling real stories—or just selling idealized ones?
Because marketing that truly sees women—all women—is not only more powerful. It’s more human.
