If I asked you to think about Canada in terms of its diversity, what would you think of?

I think of the successful immigrants I know. Of Tamil Tigers flags attached to cars, or other flags during other protests (or international sporting events). Of what a coworker’s mom cooked for her when she had a cold (her seaweed soup is my chicken noodle).

Do you think about women, specifically?

“There’s a lot of work [going into] understanding diversity from a cultural point of view,” says Christianne Dostie, executive vice-president, Allstate Canada, “less so with gender diversity.” Allstate was founded post-World War II by ex-military men. “[It was] very male dominated,” says Dostie of the approach. Glen King, director of product development and underwriting research, points out that gender heirarchy has historically been an industry-wide phenomenon: “The insurance industry has always been somewhat paternalistic and as a result, slow to recognize the important role women have in the purchase of insurance and financial products.”

In July, 2007, Allstate Canada set out to confirm its hunch: that women really are involved in the insurance shopping and purchasing process. In female-only focus groups, Allstate asked women: Are you involved and are you interested? “The answer was a loud and clear ‘yes’ in, I would say, nine out of 10 instances,” says Dostie. “Actually, they were almost offended by the question.”

Allstate then took their consumer research and underwent a female-friendly facelift. Agencies moved to well-lit retail locations with anchor tenants; they were staffed with a receptionist to greet you, and even kids’ areas.

But location and set-up was only part of the puzzle to attract female customers. “It’s one thing to have an agency set up; it’s another to make sure all your agents and claims people are doing their part,” says Dostie.

“Because we are about relationships, a lot of this is about people,” she explains. “Women don’t feel respected [in the insurance-buying process] when the approach is top down.” By top down, Dostie is referring specifically to an agent’s actions. “I see it this way: If I’m dealing with an agent, and he’s talking to the man — this is top down ... top down is also that language that is used ... So an agent must ask themselves if they are addressing a woman’s concerns [and] offering options.”

Options, in my experience, are tricky. Just last week, I was trying to change my cell phone plan. After 15 minutes of hearing “options,” I walked out, thoroughly confused and frustrated, ruing the day I signed a three-year contract to get a pretty new phone. I don’t buy the generalization that “women like options.”

“There are two aspects to that situation,” says Dostie. “One: Did they take the time to understand your needs? And two: Based on research, if you go with more than three options, it becomes more consuming for the consumer. You experience that every day — you buy shampoo and it takes half an hour.” Says King: “by getting to know her client, [the agent] can understand how involved the customer wants to be.”

So, dear cellular provider, in this economy, and especially in the wireless industry, with new competitors champing at the bit after the 2008 spectrum auction: Can you afford to ignore me? “Today, no company can afford to neglect 50 percent of the market,” says King. Plus, as the adage goes, if it’s good enough for a woman, it’s good enough for a man. “Making our products and services accessible and appealing to women means making them more accessible to everyone.”

Now, can he tell me where to buy a phone?

Justine Connelly can be reached at editor@womenspost.ca. Check out her weekly Editor's Choice blog feature on the WP homepage.