Action Alert | ICMAT Organizers Are Running Scared From Questions About Women Speakers

After GenderAvenger was tagged in this Twitter thread, we dug a little deeper into the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT) speaker list to figure out the reason why organizers are not responding to comments about their upcoming all-male conference. Looking at the numbers, it’s pretty obvious: they’re scared. The tweets are correct, and they tell a pretty ugly story.

Of all the speakers listed, only 38% of them are women. But wait, it gets better. 16% of those women are speaking at an all-women’s forum titled — wait for it — Why So Few Women In Science, Engineering & Technology? Are they serious with this?

We’ll tell you why there are so few women in science and engineering. In part it’s because they’re tired of being stuck in a back room instead of on the mainstage delivering speeches as leaders and authorities in their fields. It’s because it is 2019 and women are still being told that they’re not as smart as men when it comes to STEM and that they’re not worthy of discussing topics unless they pertain directly to women. It’s because they need men as allies, men who will stand up for what is right and ensure that their women colleagues are seen up on main stages just as much as men, and those allies have clearly not helped to pave the way for them yet.

When asked why so few women were speaking at #ICMAT2019, the organizers have no response. Are they scared the truth would get out? Have they run out of excuses? #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/action-alert-icmat-organizers-running-scared