Breaking up the Bro-Show
The only good excuse for a panel where every expert is a man is when the topic is unique to the experiences of men.
Booking a manel is a lazy practice that can negatively affect the reputation of your organization, especially if your panel has no ethnic diversity. In this piece I share tips for people organizing expert panels on how to avoid being tagged as male, pale and stale by groups such as @ManelWatch.
Over the last 15 to 20 years, societies have made progress reckoning with historic gender, racial and ethnic imbalances. People and organizations now have higher levels of cultural competence. They expect the same when attending events such as conferences. Moreso if your organization has made public commitments or statements about diversity, equity and inclusion.
Don’t undermine the good work of your organization by booking a manel. Please note that inviting a woman to moderate the discussion is not a solution.
Consistently featuring male speakers as the voices of authority reinforces the notion that women don’t participate, lead or have expertise in that area. They do. And if you’re an event organizer or coordinator, it’s your job to find them.
Good intentions, poor optics
“Conversations on diversity, inclusion, and culture change are not incompatible with our thirst for operational excellence. I count on my senior leaders to champion culture change. Diversity makes us stronger, inclusion improves our institution. We are #StrongerTogether - ArtMcD”
- Posted to Twitter, Feb. 11, 2021
This lack of representation isn’t confined to conference centres. News media often call upon the same “authoritative” male voices to discuss topics such as national security, history, artificial intelligence and policing. They’re often the same people you have seen and heard for many years.
Your audience deserves to hear fresh perspectives!
Here are five suggestions to help freshen up your roster of experts:
Ask your regular expert guests to recommend female colleagues who share their expertise. Don’t fret about offending them. He’s had his exposure and now someone else deserves a turn.
Search lists of experts at your local colleges and universities.
Consult InterviewHer.com. Created by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, this website features women experts in peace, conflict and security issues. The website is undergoing a refresh but I’m told it should be back in operation by the end of this year.
In the meantime, the Women’s Media Centre Shesource is solid resource.
And if you are seeking a very specific area of expertise, this page features more than 100 databases featuring talent from underrepresented groups. They include Women Also Know History and a spreadsheet featuring women virologists.
I do have a word of caution. As a journalist, I frequently had to do a real sales job convincing women to participate in an interview or panel for the first time. They often deferred to someone else with more expertise. Journalists rarely need to hear from the world’s foremost expert on anything. I like to put it this way, if you’re organizing a panel discussion about how solar panels work, your audience doesn’t need to hear from an expert on intramolecular singlet fission.
Further reading: The Missing Perspectives of Women in News, UN Indonesia takes aim at all-male panel discussions, Gendered Conference Campaign
