The Official GenderAvenger Stamp of Approval has Arrived!
Every Monday the GenderAvenger team huddles to decide what will be featured in upcoming GA Action Alerts. We look at what the community is sending us and what we are seeing. Alas, more often than not, our choices include the bad, the horrid, or the atrocious.
When we discover a conference, a list, or an event to celebrate, it is automatically featured, because we want to be as much about rewarding good behavior as reproaching the bad.
We want to publicly celebrate gender inclusion.
We do acknowledge the power of shaming and the higher click-through rates on social media for doing so. We also know that organizations that promote gender inclusion and organizers who work hard to achieve gender balance are not publicly celebrated as often as they should be.
Have you ever looked at a conference line-up and decided not to go — or wished you didn’t have to — because of the gender balance? Have you ever rejected a concert because all the bands were male? Have you ever dismissed a best-of list because clearly there were women who belonged on it who didn’t appear?
The GenderAvenger Stamp of Approval will be awarded to conferences and other public events.
The GenderAvenger Stamp of Approval will be awarded to conferences and other public events that have a minimum of 40% women represented onstage within two weeks of the event date and to published lists that meet this standard and are likely to become reference tools. The GA Stamp will only apply to the particular conference or list we are celebrating and not the entire sponsoring organization. Why? Our hope is that receiving the GA Stamp once will serve as an incentive for future planning.
What happens if the percentage decreases by the event date? Good question. We like to think that once an organization accepts the Stamp of Approval, its leadership will feel truly obligated to prioritize gender balance at that specific event and in the future. Should they fall short, they will have to answer to the GenderAvenger community.
How does an organization get the GenderAvenger Stamp of Approval?
We find them. You find them. For instance, Personal Democracy Forum 2017 (PDF) would have been able to post our Stamp of Approval in June and Y’all Connect just last week. Since both PDF and Y’All Connect have met our standard three years in a row, they are the first organizations awarded and allowed to use the GenderAvenger Stamp of Approval on their home pages!
We’re also thrilled to announce that INBOUND 2017 is one of our inaugural recipients. The event will host more than 21,000 attendees in Boston from September 25-28 to explore the latest trends in marketing, sales, and broader business. In addition to featuring 47% female speakers including the likes of Michelle Obama, Brené Brown, Billie Jean King, and Elaine Welteroth, INBOUND is committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all through a community code of conduct.
Help us find good news!
Help us find worthy recipients — organizers of the best conferences and events and authors of the best lists — so we can give them the good news that they’ve been awarded the GenderAvenger Stamp of Approval. Let’s encourage those who understand the importance of gender diversity. They will be the leaders in spreading the change.