WSJ.DLive: Keep the Pressure On for 2016!
Thank you, GenderAvengers! Thank you for your tweets, your Facebook posts, and your Tumblr posts during WSJ.DLive. Thank you for being a part of our very first Thunderclap and for creating a tidal wave of messages that let WSJ.DLive organizers know that it’s time to value the voices of women.
WSJ.D Live, a global technology conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal, had only 15% women speakers this year. GenderAvengers joined forces and showed The Wall Street Journal that it’s time to value the voices of women by sharing this message during the opening remarks on the first day of the conference:
15% women speakers at #WSJDLive. This is how much the Wall Street Journal values #womenintech. https://t.co/GmBHDbIhWZ
— Anita Sarah Jackson (@Anita_Sarah) October 20, 201571 people signed up for the Thunderclap, while many more shared tweets and messages throughout the conference supporting our message.
Drone are fantastic @rupertmurdoch so are women speakers. Your producers can do better than 15% women speakers at #WSJDLive. #womenintech.
— Fay Feeney (@fayfeeney) October 20, 2015#WSJDLive Think different. Include women in the discussion. @GenderAvenger @tim_cook #genderavenger
— Susan Askew (@susanaskew) October 20, 2015These messages were here, there, and everywhere. The GA Tally was a top image for WSJ.DLive on Twitter for the full conference, and many Thunderclap tweets appeared in the top 20 tweets under #WSJDLive for both days of the event. Attendees and online followers couldn’t escape our message or the knowledge that only 15% of the speakers that graced the WSJ.DLive stage were women. Our data on women speakers also appeared in an article on CNN.com.
Keep the pressure on.
Reach out WSJ.DLive today and let them know that when they start planning the 2016 lineup, we want to see 40% or more women onstage. Show them that we’re paying attention and that we won’t back down until they commit to creating a gender balanced lineup.
Send an email to Robin Wood Sailer, the contact for program and speaker inquiries, at robin.wood-sailer@dowjones.com. Copy the email below or create your own and encourage WSJ.DLive to aim for the Hall of Fame in 2016.
Dear Robin,
In 2015, WSJ.DLive had only 15% women speakers. That’s worse than your speaker gender ratio in 2014. Your event is billed as a “global technology conference.” We need the voices of women to be represented in tech and onstage at your event. Now is the time to commit to change: Feature 40% or more women in your lineup in 2016 and create the vibrant and inclusive array of speakers that I know you are capable of creating.
This is WSJ.DLive’s second year in the Hall of Shame. In 2014, organizers released a slate of all male speakers, then promised GenderAvenger that “This is just the beginning. Stay tuned.” The 2014 conference had just 20% women speakers. 2015 was even worse with only 15% women speakers.
Don’t let them get away with this in 2016. WSJ.DLive is an annual event, and, although it would be impossible for conference organizers to have missed our torrent of tweets, they have yet to respond or to commit to make a change.