#FliptheRatio is dedicated to growing the visibility of women in business, politics and all aspects of public, civic and urban life. A pretty big task, which is why we have started small, with the aim of getting more women on panels, especially in male-dominated fields.
Assembling a mixed panel is not always easy. Why limit yourself to a puddle of female speakers when you can have a pool of experienced male speakers?
Firstly, because these pools easily become stagnant. Unless spaces are opened up to new talent, we are all doomed to a lifetime of sitting in front of the same line-up of panellists.
Getting more women on panels is not just about redressing the gender balance, but about bringing new talent to the table with fresh ideas, a different perspective and a willingness to challenge the status quo.
Plumbing the depths of the speaker pool is not just about diversifying panels, but diversifying pipelines. Visibility matters, not just to those who are junior in the field and looking for role models, but those who have not yet joined, taking one look at your sector and saying “no, that’s not for me”. You are turning away talent without even knowing it.
Event organisers are not bad people. They are just trying to do a job, which more often than not is about assembling a line-up of speakers (often at short notice) with at least half a clue about the topic in discussion. All-male panels are less about a patriarchal conspiracy and more about a tendency to rely on the same familiar figures in a given field.
#FliptheRatio is not about shaming all-male panels, but championing more varied panels. As much as we love a good event, we cannot get to everything out there, so this is where your help comes in.
Here’s the drill. Take a photo of the panel in front of you. Post it in our feed, with the name of the event host in question. If you would rather keep things anonymous, feel free to direct message us, and we can post the picture for you. If you don’t want to share the name of the event host, send us a quick description of the type of event or field it covers. That way, we can see which sectors are challenging the status quo, and those that could do with a gentle push.
Most importantly, take some real world action.
If you are a woman, put yourself forward for speaking opportunities – don’t just wait to be asked. If you have been asked to sit on a panel, say yes. The best way of securing more slots on panels is to get on one, to speak up, and be seen. Chances are that if you do a decent job, you will be asked again.
Ignore anyone who tells you that you are only there as a token woman. The most brilliant and experienced female speakers may have got their first slot out of “tokenism”, though few would now question the capability of these women to share their expertise.
And finally, if you cannot make every panel you are offered, you can always pass on the invitation to a colleague. Stop competing with one another and start championing each other – there are plenty of spaces to go around.
Being critical is easy, being constructive is better.
Kat Hana, research manager, Centre for London
