Right, I have now waded through dozens of comments, tweets and my own tangled thoughts on Monday’s post. What stood out?
Boycott v constructive engagement: is it better to politely push conference organizers, suggest female panelists, and express ‘strong disinclination’ to take part in testosterone-fests, or to play hardball with a blanket ban? And is the crime less heinous for a three man panel than a six man one?
Should this approach be extended beyond gender, especially to having representation from developing countries?
Pressure during the event itself: questions from the floor and from panelists should ask organizers to explain themselves and/or panelists should make the effort to ask for female colleagues’ input to the debate and pass it on (duly credited).
Should we add a ban on all-female panels on gender issues?
Don’t blame the event organizers when the real problem is broader – the lack of women at top level in a number of development-related institutions (yes, but a combination of conscious effort and affirmative action by event organizers can be part of redressing the wider problem).
For the moment, I’m coming round to the following position: When asked to participate on a panel, right-thinking men should
a) Ask about the current make-up of the panel
b) If it’s devoid of either women or people from other relevant population groups (depending on the topic), both express serious reservations and try and suggest some names
c) If they think the organizers are not serious, they should decline, but if they seem to be really trying, it’s OK to say yes
d) Before the panel, try and get input from colleagues to fill in any potential gaps in the panel‘s analysis due to its grotesquely distorted composition
e) When speaking on the panel, mention the disparity, and try and ensure a fair spread of questioners (male domination applies to questions at least as much as it does to panelists)
And of course, none of this applies if the panelists are Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Jim Kim, but Christine Lagarde is not available that day.
There, that should ensure I never get invited to speak at a panel again. Result.
And since everyone likes voting (judging by last year’s top ten), please could you tell me whether I’ve got it right? The Poll will remain open for a few days. The question is
When asked to appear on panels, men should
a) Simply refuse to appear on male-only panels
b) Constructively engage with organizers in the way set out in the blog
c) Just be grateful, say yes and abandon all this pitiful liberal self-doubt