Action Alert | Where are the women at #SPGPM?
April showers bring… a thunderstorm of gender inequality this week. We tallied* the S&P Global Power Markets™ Conference. Attendees can expect content-rich panel discussions, high-caliber speakers, robust networking with prominent global decision-makers, prizes, an expansive exhibit hall… but not many women experts speaking.
*We tallied the Conference Speaker list only. The Workshop Speaker list was 2 women, 0 women of color, and 6 men.
At first, we were excited because two powerful women topped the conference speaker list. But as we scrolled through the speaker list, we began to see that men made up 75% of the speaker list. And there were more Michaels on this list than women of color.
Is it an industry issue or gross oversight? This looks like an industry issue. In 2018, Bloomberg reported that only 14 women lead commodity houses globally. That same year S&P put out the Women in Commodities feature on International Women’s Day to discuss the potential benefits of including more women in the commodities sector and the broader economy. According to a 2020 Catalyst study, less than 13% of women in finance make it to leadership positions, like CFO. The numbers are bleak, and the industry has a long way to reaching parity. But conferences like the S&P Global Power Markets™ Conference can be a bridge to including more women by creating spaces and opportunities for women to shine.
What if conference organizers and attendees could reimage conference gatherings as spaces to share industry insights, actively engage with systemic issues, provide leadership training, and a strategic reimagining of how we work together? We don't have to conference the way we always have. It's 2022, and we can be more creatively responsive and compulsory to solving gender disparities and the lack of diversity across industries. As we think about how to solve pipeline issues, one conference isn't to blame for an industry-wide gender problem. However, conferences, organizations, and individuals are responsible for providing their solutions to systemic barriers that keep women from entering into industries like global commodities and the power sector.
Do Your Part To Increase Women In Public Dialogue!
It’s not enough to have women attending; we need more women on stages. If you care who’s speaking on the virtual and in-person stages at your industry conferences, say something! Demand more from the conferences you’re attending. Request that they include more women in their programming!
More women’s voices make for a more diverse and holistic conference experience. The manel often happens in the planning process, which can be avoided! We’ve put together five tips to help conference organizers ponder as they put together their speaker line-up.
Light the Flame with Inspiring Reads
How can we challenge ideas about gender and expertise so that women can claim their place at the table, take their time at the mic, or rise to power and influence? We hope this week’s reads empower and inspire your advocacy and thinking.
When we take an intersectional approach to understand how societal issues impact women, we look at the combination of gender + any social identifier. This coverage in The Guardian on the impact of poverty on female life expectancy is a prime example of what we mean.
A recent report from the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) and 50-50 Women on Boards found that 2021 was a “watershed year” for women on corporate boards (via Politico).
Not all heroes wear capes! OG History is a Teen Vogue series about the undersung figures and events that shaped the world. Meet Martha Mitchell, the woman who shed light on Watergate.
Psst… Sharing is caring! If you enjoy our weekly love letter to gender equality, pass it on to a friend, colleague, organization, or event planner you know!
📣🚨 There are more “Michaels” than women of color, and 75% of conference speakers are men... Yikes! Where are the women at #SPGPM?