Turn Excuses for Poor Gender Representation Into a Resolution for Real Change

Did you know that the most visited page on GenderAvenger.com is the How to Beat the Excuses cheat sheet? People use the list to see what the most common excuses are and to find suggestions for beating them, but no matter why they’re there it’s clear that, while we still need to address the excuses from organizers and listmakers as they come up, it’s time that each of us resolves to do our part to end the excuses once and for all in our own spheres.

make a GenderAvenger resolution

We started by coming up with resolutions for each of the 12 excuses, but we quickly discovered that each excuse really leads to the same goal. All the excuses could be replaced by this one, all-encompassing GenderAvenger resolution: “As an organizer, advertiser, or participant, I will not be part of any event or list that doesn’t have both gender balance and strong representation of women of color.”

The 12 Usual Excuses for Bad Gender Balance

  • We know we have no women. We are always looking for ideas. Could you please send some names?

  • I tried, but a lot of women were just too busy/unavailable.

  • I can’t believe I didn’t notice. How embarrassing.

  • You know how good we usually are and how hard we try. Look at last year…

  • This is just the beginning. Stay tuned.

  • 23% is good, because women make up less than 30% of the workforce” or “Studies show that 30% makes a big difference.

  • They weren’t on the publicity list but there were a lot of women present.

  • Our President is a woman and she opened and closed the event.

  • Look how many of our moderators are women.

  • The excuse given comes from a woman who was asked by a male organizer to respond.

  • There just weren’t any women who met our criteria.

  • Overall we have lots of special programming for women.

 
 

The GenderAvenger Resolution

“As an organizer, advertiser, or participant, I will not be part of any event or list that doesn’t have both gender balance and strong representation of women of color.”
 
 

If you agree, an excellent first step is to sign the GA Pledge to publicly signal your stand for gender balance in the public dialog, and an even greater second step is to spread the word.

Viva la resolution!

 
 

The @GenderAvenger How to Beat the Excuses cheat sheet is their most visited page, which means it’s high time we all turn the excuses for a lack of women on panels, lists, boards, etc into one #resolution for representation. Are you in? #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/turn-gender-representation-excuses-into-a-resolution

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