Philately, an hobby for men?

Do you mean women don't have the collector gene? I must think about, but my wife collects shoses and handbags... (i'm joking)
When i proposed the same question in Italy, i remember an explication of one of the few women collectors i know: Women has usually less time than men...
(I start believing i should not have opened this post...)

I started collecting stamps as a kid in the early 50's when I was bought a stamp album as a Christmas present. I was aware of more girls than boys collecting - boys did the more macho things like playing football. Having said that I remember chatting at the bar of a rugby club to a new member to our side (an ex England international) who said that amongst other things he collected stamps and could knit. At one point many years ago I belonged to a stamp club, it had more female members than male

Well, the president of the only club to which, right now, I belong in Catalonia has been for decades a lady (now on her 70's): my good friend Carme Font, president of the Cercle Filatèlic i Numismàtic (Philatelic and numismatic club) of Ripoll (Catalonia, Europe). But, She's the exception of the rule!

There is a clear disconnect between establishment philately and the general stamp collectors. Most stamp collectors are NOT part of establishment philately. In establishment philately, you definitely see a disproportionate number of males; and in the case of the West, disproportionate number of Caucasian males (I'm not saying that is bad, just my observation). When I used to frequent stamp shows and dealer shops, I was almost always the only non-white male in the room (other than maybe 1-2 female dealers). That's not to say women or minorities didn't go, but we were so few that we rarely saw each other.

In grass-roots online forums such as this one, you start seeing much more diversity, especially as collectors who don't go to shows or aren't part of establishment philately join. APS has made inroads in the past 2 decades, but I think membership doesn't come close to reflecting actual demographics because most collectors are not members of APS nor go to stamp shows.

I have had to meet with a lot of people over the years. Of those who happened to be stamp collectors, the great majority of them have never joined a stamp organization nor online forum. I would also say roughly half of them are women. My mother is the one who got me started in stamp collecting -- she was a stamp collector. That's my small sampling of the world.

Awwww thanks, tomiseksj, but not necessary unless there are a bunch of other gals who like the idea. The fellas here are so warm and inclusive - but other sites could really use something like a “powder room” for the ladies. The Stamp Forum is fine as is. Plus I can always pick up the phone and call one of the girls, eh? 

Also, I believe khj was on the money about how many women collectors prefer to do so outside of organized philately. 

Out of curiosity, I took a look at a random group of 100 Colnect members and by guessing via names and pictures, approximately one fifth or less are women, ditto for Stamporama membership base. 

Interesting topic ... I find when I join a club or attend a show, I'm usually in the minority. That said, I'm usually not alone either. Locally there are a few clubs where the president is a woman.

I totally agree with philatelia about the mansplaining and the reactions from dealers. I often go to shows with my husband, who became a collector after seeing me working on my stamps. I've got a good 20-year edge on him in terms of stamp collecting experience as I started as a teen. However, I have had numerous dealers that assume I am not the collector, and only pay attention to him. Sometimes my husband will back right out when this happens, and say 'oh no my wife is the expert here'.

Good question - it normally works quite well (sometimes after a momentary pause or shocked look).  I also think it's a bit rare to have collecting couples but I admit I'm more apt to buy from someone that starts out with something like 'How can I help you folks today?  without assuming who is looking for something.