Here’s How To Encourage More Women To Get Prepared

When it comes to prepping, it’s a mans world. It just kind of how it is. Men tend to naturally gravitate towards everything preparedness related. Honestly, I never in my wildest dreams would have ever guessed I’d be as hardcore into preparedness and the outdoors as I am. When you look at the ratio between men and women, men still dominate the prepping world.

When I first started prepping, it was intimidating. All I saw were these very opinionated men who were trying to tell me (a woman) how to prep. While there are a lot of similarities in how men and women prep, there are some differences as well. There are some topics that men just flat out refuse to talk about, especially when it comes to feminine hygiene. I can’t tell you how many men have come to my videos and told me ‘how gross’ that I’m talking about feminine hygiene.

You have zero women in your life? No wife? Daughter? Sister? Mother? Grandmother? Niece? Friend?

These differences are a fact of life and as preppers we need to be mature enough to talk about them so that we can help others be prepared.

Women like to claim that there are lots of female preppers but they just keep to themselves and prep in the shadows.

While I do believe that there are many women who don’t get involved with the online prepping community, I also hear plenty of stories of women who think their prepping husbands are straight up insane.

Why do you think one of the most common questions in the prepping community is “how to get my spouse interested in prepping?” And more often than not, that gender of that spouse is female. Again, not being sexist or stereotypical, it’s just the way it’s been.

Look at the ratios of women in self-defense, firearm or outdoor classes/meetups/workshops/etc. I can usually count the number of women on one hand. The men always outnumber the women.

I am seeing a lot more women getting interested in the outdoors, which is fantastic, but being interested in the outdoors doesn’t necessarily equate to being interested in preparedness or survival.

There are some amazing women who have popped up in recent years to help with the prepping movement, which is great.

And do not misunderstand me:

Men and women need to work together as a team.

I am NOT advocating for ALL women preppers or any such nonsense. But the fact is, the more men AND women we have on board, the better off we’ll all be so that we can work together as a cohesive team.

Which brings us to suggestion #1:

Whether male or female, be a positive role model. Keep your clothes on. Be transparent. Have a sense of humor. Be real. Inspire. Motivate. Be great, but also be normal. Just be yourself.

One great way to inspire women to prep is by showing them other women who prep! Show them women YouTubers, bloggers, writers, etc. Here are some suggested YouTubers:

• Rogue Preparedness (shameless plug!)
• Mama Bear Preparedness
• Prepper Potpourri
• Prepper Princess
• Spirit Forest
• Rain Country
• Girl In The Woods
• TheWildYam
• Wild Woman Bushcraft
• Millennial Prepper
• The Patriot Nurse
• Christian Prepper Girl
• Mrs. Vital Survival
• The Bladed Broad
• Southpaw Bushcraft
• FEMs That Prep

That’s just a short list of some of my favorites. Please feel free to list your favorites in the comment section!

In general, show strong women role models in the outdoor and prepping industry through YouTube, Instagram, blogs, etc.

Suggestion #2:

Talk to them practically, not in doom and gloom. In general, every person needs to be spoken to a very specific way. We all understand things differently, communicate differently, etc. But men tend to talk to other men very differently than you might talk to a woman. I’m a tom-boy but that doesn’t mean I want to be spoken to as if I’m a guy.

Refrain from talking down to them. You shouldn’t be talking down to anyone, really. But women tend to get talked down to for no apparent reason. We want to learn. We want to understand. Break it down. Be honest. Be realistic. Just be real.

Give valid, cold, hard facts of why being prepared is a good idea. And please don’t mention the apocalypse. Give us insurance examples. Why do we have insurance? For just in case, right? That’s what being prepared is all about, ‘just in case’. Women are planners. Women are care-takers, women are mama bears. Cater to our nature and we’ll be more receptive.

Most importantly, involve them in the decision making process. If you want to buy a prepping related item, say, a solar oven, explain the benefits. Show them some examples of how it’s done, what fun and delicious things can be cooked by the power of the sun!

Nobody wants to be treated like an idiot. Speak to them truthfully, logically, add in some fun and involve them.

Suggestion #3:

Get them into a ladies only class. If you want them to be more involved in a certain area of preparedness such as self-defense or gardening or whatever, sign them up for a women’s only class. Honestly, this really does make it way less intimidating for most women. I will say one thing, though, that when it comes to self-defense that women need to train with men. But if you just want to get them interested and get their feet wet, get them into a ladies only class to start.

Alternatively, you could go with them to whatever class or activity and don’t call it prepping. Involve them in something fun, like canoeing or gardening or going to the range; something that you BOTH can do together and have fun doing!

Suggestion #4:

Make them comfortable. Let them have what they want to have. If you’re creating a bug out bag for them and they want makeup in their bag, LET THEM! It’s just makeup. If it makes them feel comfortable, let them have it. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s silly, it’s what is going to make them feel safe, normal and comfortable.

Personalize as much as you can for them and their wants and needs. This means personalized colors, specific brands that they prefer and so on. Understand her needs and accommodate them the best that you can.

In the end, it’s all about supporting each other’s needs, no matter how “silly” they may seem to you or anyone else.

It may take time for certain people, whether male or female, to get on board with preparedness and not everyone is going to want to jump head-first into the online prepping community.

However, it’s important to get everyone on board so that we can all work together in times of crisis.

Let’s work together to build a strong prepping community!