Yes, you have a “women’s panel” at your day long event. Or, maybe you have a few women scattered on a couple of panels. But have you considered the advantages of a truly gender-balanced conference or event? And have you thought about what it means to your entire community?
If you are running a large conference or day-long or multi-day event, we want to talk to you about the Innovation Women Gender-balanced Conference Challenge. Can you ensure that at your event:
- All the “on-stage moments” have an equal number of men and women.
- All your panels have an equal number of women and men.
- Your keynote speaker slate and featured speakers list have an equal number of men and women.
- Your pitch contest, or hack-a-thon or other participatory elements are gender-balanced.
Gender-balance your entire conference or large event and reap the attendance benefits too. More diverse panels and speakers bring in a larger community of attendees, as well as providing more interesting conversations onstage.
Large events, conferences and conventions play a unique role in any community. With such a large number of speakers, they are often providing a showcase for speakers who will populate other events. Event managers see a great speaker at another event and ask them to speak at their event. If the biggest game in town is gender-balanced and diverse, you will see a trickle-down effect in the entire community. Big events set the example.
Stay tuned for more information on the Innovation Women Gender-balanced Conference Challenge!
