This week, two different online publications featured Innovation Women as a solution to gender inequities in the world: Singularity Hub and TechTarget. While we talk about being a visibility bureau for our speakers, this kind of visibility helps the overall cause by making Innovation Women a destination for event managers and other journalists too.
“Every time we get a woman on stage, she’s able to make her business more successful or her career more successful, but she’s also a success example for others. So, the more women we get on stage, the more women we will get on stage.”
It’s a familiar story: conference organizers bring in male speakers because the only speakers they know are men. In the technology field, where women earn only 28 percent of computer science degrees and hold only 25 percent of computing jobs, this disparity is especially noticeable. This contributes to a vicious cycle where other women are discouraged from entering the industry due to a lack of inspiration, role models, or even a support system.
As we told TechTarget, “My belief is that event managers need to be the leaders because this is a self-fulfilling prophecy,” [Carlton] said. “Not having these women on stage means they don’t get considered for [executive officer] positions or board positions or new jobs … Conferences and events set themselves up as the arbiters of who is a mover and shaker; they set themselves up as ‘these are the important people in our industry because we should all be listening to them.’ So, they need to put more women on stage even if they need to work a little bit harder to do that.”
Meanwhile, Singularity Hub talked about “How Technology is Helping Close the Gender Gap and Empower Women.”
That’s why we started Innovation Women. Speaking connects us to customers, partners, credibility and more. Being invited to speak can change so much for one woman. And speaking can help change the women who see you. When women are speaking or more diverse speakers are represented on stage, they are representing to an audience that looks up at them and says “I could do that.” You can’t be what you can’t see.
So, the more women we get on stage, the more women we will get on stage.
Keep talking!
Bobbie
