Follow Up on my Les Blogs rant - Post from Worker Bees Blog
Disclaimer: I'm on the BlogHer board of advisors.
Elisa, of Worker Bees Blog fame, wrote a spot on piece about why BlogHer is not passe, particularly with respect to the issue of the representation of women's views/thinking/expertise/value at tech conferences. "Anyway, I've noticed a new phenomenon, I'm sure it is linked to the fact that we've announced BlogHer 06 and made it clear that we are moving onward with the BlogHer Mission to provide education, exposure and community by for and to women bloggers.
Elisa and her readers have a suggestion for us. Let the sponsors of these events know why you aren't going. Do the math. This is an economic issue in many respects and that's the point of leverage. And think beyond the gender issue. What do you want to see represented at the events you fork over your hard earned money for?
The phenomenon is that I get cc'ed on emails from frustrated women naming various conferences and events they've been invited to or heard about, and pointing out the dearth of women on the speaker list. In at least one case the woman didn't feel she could safely blog it herself. But was trying to spread the word to others who might."
What I'm wondering now is how to do this in a constructive manner. I'm really not into bashing, despite my hissy fit blog post last night. If you are a tech conference organizer and want to talk about this, lets convene a conference call with some of the interested folks.
Talk with an action agenda!
Categories: Blogher, unconference, womenintechnology
posted by Nancy White at 11:09 AM
1 Comments:
Thanks Nancy. I think it's idea to want all this talk to lead to action.
And there have been conference organizers who are interested in improving the diversity of the perspective represented on the panels who have contacted us directly, so we know some organizers do prioritize this. Kudos to them, I say.
I would add, though, that I hardly think it's "bashing" to a) vote with your pocketbook and b) be public about it.
That's grass roots activism, isn't it? That's how many great changes start. Until awareness is increased, action can hardly follow.
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