Is THIS the Year? Is 2018 Year of the Woman

It's a New Year and with it comes new opportunities for everyone. (If you're in the Northeast like us, you have the not-so-new opportunity to dig yourself out after a winter storm - over a foot of snow in our driveway this morning.)

It's a New Year and the question we're all asking is, "Is THIS the year that women break out?" With last year's women's marches and all the attention on sexual harassment (#MeToo), it would seem like 2018 would have no choice but to become The Year of the Woman. 

But let's not forget that The Year of the Woman label was attached to 1992 after the election of a number of female U.S. Senators. The Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas included testimony from Anita Hill and raised the question of the dominance of men in the Senate. 

And yet, we're back here again. 

On the conference and event front, it was only three years ago that the RSA conference made news by implementing a dress code that banned revealing attire, effectively stopping the use of so-called "Booth Babes" at their conferences. Several other conferences followed suit but the hiring of models for holiday parties was written up in a December article in Bloomberg. 

 Is this the year that the speaker gender double standard wavers? (Only female CEOs can speak but male VPs, directors and managers are welcome.) 

Will we see the extinction or phasing out of the #AllMalePanel? 

Only time will tell but meanwhile, we all need to take that step forward. Speakers - raise your hands and say "Yes." Event managers - look at your diversity, inclusion and gender-balance on stage. You may need to take action to address the situation.

There are opportunities that come to you and opportunities that you create yourself.

Bobbie Carlton is the founder of Innovation Women, an online speaker's bureau focused on placing entrepreneurial, innovative and technical women speakers at conferences and events. This article originally appeared in the weekly Innovation Women newsletter. Sign up today.