It was written by Perry, Sarah Hudson, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, John Ryan, and song's producer Johan Carlsson, with additional production by Elvira Anderfjärd.
Perry first spoke about "What Makes a Woman" on interview with NRJ Lebanon in June 2020, where she explained the song meaning: "That is a hope I have for my future child, is that she doesn't have any limits on any of her dreams, or what she wants to be, or who she thinks she is.
[1] This is a ballad which talks about celebrating womanhood and was written specifically to Perry's daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, and it's one of only two songs with vulgar slurs on the album.
[6] It was directed by Tim Sekiguchi and it features pregnant singer in flowy, purple dotted dress performing the song live.
Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt described "What Makes a Woman" as "strummy" and "winsome", adding that it "could be a B side from peak-era Shania Twain.
[4] Writing for Insider Courtney Larocca praised Perry's vocals, saying that they have "warmth" and "deapth, which are perfectly paired with an absolutely gorgeous guitar riff.
"[12] Emily Mackay of The Guardian called the song "the weakest" on the album, describing it as a "cliched, countryish musing on the supposed mystery of femininity.
[18] Pitchfork's Dani Blum found the track's songwriting to be similar to Perry's previous album, Witness (2017), and One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" (2011), without improving on them.