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Why Is It Harder To Get Female Speakers At Tech Events?

Ticketing Business Forum Panel Discussion

Why Is It Harder To Get Female Speakers At Tech Events?


Female representation is crucial across many fields. From the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival (criticised this year for its all-male headliner line-up) to the world of business. Both women and men need platforms to contribute equally to the workforce, the arts and politics.

Broadly, we are making progress. As of 28th February 2023, 40.2% of FTSE 350 Board positions are held by women and various movements have brought light to the discrimination women have suffered in the workplace, helping to raise awareness and promote change. However, the technology sector still struggles to recruit and promote women. According to research, only 25% of the technology sector workforce is female and women occupy just 11% of leadership roles (source – techfunnel.com).

Perhaps women are simply not attracted to the sector or maybe the environment is still too male-dominated for women to see it as an option. Certainly, the fact that the women who do enter the industry appear to hit a glass ceiling suggests inequality or wider issues within the industry. 

It is widely believed that representation plays a vital part in helping women into and progress through traditionally male-occupied spaces. So, it always saddens me to see so few women speakers at technology conferences and events. For years though, I sat in the audience, afraid to take up any speaking position. Why? Because I was afraid of being judged.

Now that I am taking up speaking opportunities and hosting panels my fear of speaking in public hasn’t subsided but I push through the fear because it has been so valuable.  I’ve made more connections, I get to share my unique insights with others and I’ve raised my profile as an experienced Ticketing Consultant for the attractions and leisure industry. I only wish there were more women on the line-up list with me.

This led me to ask a valued associate and technology event organiser why we aren’t actually seeing more women coming forward for speaking positions at technology events. Amongst various insights, he told me that it was simply harder to get female speakers at tech events because they often decline the invitation. 


Why Might Women Be Declining Invitations To Speak At Tech Events?


Naturally, it’s going to be far harder to source female speakers at industry events when they are so underrepresented in the technology profession generally. The pool is smaller. However, it struck me as particularly interesting that organisers who do reach out to women to take up speaking opportunities often find their invitations declined.

Sometimes, it’s that women in senior roles are simply too busy, therefore they have to delegate speaking opportunities.

Another reason given was that women invited to speak often opt to recommend a more senior colleague. These colleagues will usually be male considering the imbalance in gender at the executive level. This happens far less often when reaching out to men for panel or keynote speaking offers.

Global Keynote Speaker, Carla Johnson (@carlajohnson) has also found this to be the case. She wrote a series of LinkedIn blogs addressing the need to bring women centre stage and many of the comments cited the difficulty in finding women who will accept the offer. One comment, from a CEO who runs events, claimed, ‘I’ve literally never had a man decline. Never. Women decline at least half the time for various reasons.’

We can speculate as to why women are less likely to accept invitations to speak at events – and I will do, shortly. However, it’s important first to note that women aren’t underrepresented in technical talking events simply because they refuse to be.

Fintech commentator, Liz Lumley, told The Guardian that “Women are actively ignored and excluded.” She cites the issue as predominantly being a case of following the status quo. Additionally, in a male-dominated industry, the attendees also tend to be mostly male so bookers may be naturally more inclined to book speakers who mirror the demographics of the audience.

The annual Tickting Business Forum Piucture by Paul Heyes, Wednesday April 19, 2023.
The annual Ticketing Business Forum at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Piucture by Paul Heyes, Wednesday April 19, 2023.


Unspoken Rules And Unconcious Bias


Unfortunately, since I was unable to unearth a recent survey asking women why they are more likely to pass on speaking opportunities than men, it leaves me to speculate.

Brace yourselves because I will be generalising here but please rest assured that I understand there are exceptions and nuance. In lieu of evidence and statistics, all I can present is ideas. But ideas lead to discussion and discussion can lead to change so here goes – a few reasons why it might be harder to get female speakers at tech events:


Tired Topics

When someone rejects an opportunity to be a keynote speaker it may well be because the topic or theme simply didn’t appeal. 

Women tend to be very pragmatic, especially in their careers, and may be more likely to decline an invitation to speak about something they are not passionate about or perhaps don’t consider themselves experts in. They may also decline to talk about a subject they feel has been well covered by others previously. Women may not feel they can go back to the organiser with a suggestion of another focus for a keynote speech.

This may be one of the reasons why you see more women on panels than in lone-speaking roles. Collaboration and discussion can often lead to more unique and nuanced discussions.

Aside from this, women are often approached specifically to discuss women in technology and some of us are really bored of it. Yes, it’s an issue. Yes, I’m talking about it now. But, in a room full of technology professionals, women want to be talking about the tech, the businesses that it supports, the innovation, and the future of their industry – not their gender. In order to achieve equal recognition the first thing we need to do is be able to talk more about our successes than the barriers.


False Modesty And Imposter Syndrome

During my training to become a coach, I learnt about transactional analysis. This is the study of human behaviour as dictated by ego-states. It focuses on social interactions and the reasons behind why individuals might present and respond as they do. This approach is very useful when looking at why women might be less inclined to take up public speaking positions because confidence is so closely tethered to our ego state.

From a very young age, boys and girls are treated differently. Not by everyone and not necessarily intentionally, but bias gets picked up early on.

Girls are taught modesty in their behaviour. There is no ‘girls will be girls’ saying for a female child raising hell in a playground and when they demonstrate leadership they are far more likely to be called ‘bossy’, whereas boys may be praised as ‘assertive’ for the same approach. When unconscious bias leads to disparities between what is considered proper behaviour in boys and girls, you create young women who have been conditioned to be modest, to stay quiet and to shun the limelight.

Modesty in the workplace can hold you back. It can prevent you from being invited to speak at industry events and it can mean you’re more likely to decline if you are.

Although impostor syndrome is a separate struggle they are very closely related and are both barriers for women in technology. Whilst we must encourage women to take ownership of their skills, celebrate their achievements and be honest about their expertise, the environment must accommodate this barrier in the meantime.

In my research, I have also come across quite a few women and advocates for more female speakers who claim they have received speaking invitation emails carrying the suggestion they were not a first choice for a keynote speaker. If we’re being kind we could explain this as an error in judgement, but we might also call it a power play. Either way, this is not an approach that’s going to encourage women to accept what would feel like a very half-hearted offer.

Event organisers may be forgiven for assuming that anyone in a position that merits them worthy enough to be a keynote speaker, would be highly self-assured and confident. This would be a mistake, particularly in regard to female candidates who are far more prone to imposter syndrome. I am definitely no exception!


Self-Promotion Is Not Part Of The Job

Whether a woman is employed or is running a company, they may consider their responsibility to the business, not to themselves. This attitude may explain why boards perform better when there is gender balance. It has been found that when there are more women in decision-making roles, companies are less likely to take high-risk decisions. In the past, this may have been seen as a weakness but during the banking crisis of 2008, the financial institutions with more women in the boardroom generally fared better. This led to quite a sudden shift in the finance sector with investors calling on businesses to promote more women to leadership positions to establish a better balanced boardroom.

However, because women may put the needs of their business above self-promotion, taking time out to speak at industry events may feel self-indulgent or even irresponsible. Of course, this is not true. Elevating the voices of those in leadership positions helps the businesses they are employed by, or run, by association. Still, the perceived idea that they may be putting their professional ambition before their duty to the business may be a barrier to taking up the offer of a platform.

As discussed earlier, women in leadership roles often overcompensate by taking on more of an active role and so may simply not see speaking at industry events as a worthy priority. It may be useful for event organisers to put more focus on how the presence of a keynote speaker could help get their business better exposure too. This may appeal to women who feel their professional duty to their employer or business dictates how they spend their working hours.


How Can Tech Events Attract More Female Speakers

Now that we’ve speculated as to the reasons it may be harder to get female speakers at tech events, let’s look at ways event organisers can overcome these. 


Let’s Start With Panel Participation

Plunging straight into standing alone on a stage with 20-40 minutes to fill is a fairly terrifying thought for many women. Yet, we do see more women happy to participate in live panel discussions. This may be because the back-and-forth dialogue is more comfortable and shared exposure is less intimidating.

Female representation on panels is important but that’s not solving the problem directly. What it can do though, is elevate more women into positions where they might then feel more able to take on a keynote speech next time. Getting women involved at a level where there is less pressure may be a way of then elevating them into the limelight at a more comfortable pace.


Ask Nicely And Ask Twice

How you approach someone is extremely important if your goal is to get them to agree to put themselves ‘out there’. Yet, invitations sent out to prospective speakers can often come across as generic and impersonal. Sometimes, as discussed above, organisers even reveal to the prospective speaker that they were not their first choice.

So this is a simple one really – ask nicely. Make sure they know they’ve been handpicked and, if they decline, you can always ask again. Do your research and let them know you have.

Sometimes, people need to be asked twice because our first response is usually pre-programmed. It’s why most people will respond with ‘fine’ when asked how they are, but ask them a second time and you’re more likely to get to the real answer. Going back to ask someone to reconsider doesn’t have to be pushy or desperate. It can be an opportunity to make them rethink their reasons for declining and this may elicit a different response.


Don’t Forget To Say Why

Modesty, imposter syndrome, being unpracticed in self-promotion, are all great reasons to decline an invitation to be a keynote speaker. So, make sure you’re telling prospective speakers why you want them to participate.

Maybe it’s because you read an article they wrote or you followed a project they led, or maybe you met them at an industry event and they had some interesting insights. Tell them. It’s not flattery – it’s transparency.

Sometimes we’re too busy moving on to the next project or the next role to realise that we have reached the stage of being an expert. Someone others will want to learn from.

I love the title of Michelle Obama’s autobiography – Becoming. In many ways, it’s perfect because women are always becoming. We’re moving through various stages of life and evolving and learning and experiencing. Yet, because we are so focused on becoming we don’t always see what we have already become. This is why it’s important to let women know what it is that made you approach them professionally. You may find they are far less inclined to recommend another speaker if make it clear that they’re the expert you want.


Building Community

One thing that definitely helps professional women grow in confidence is comradery.

When you’re in the minority in your industry it can feel quite lonely and this is why female networking groups and communities tend to be a haven for women in business.

How do I know? Well, apart from speaking to many women who have found support in these groups, I’ve started one myself!

If you build it, they will come, so they say – and they did! I launched my Women In Tech community in June 2023 and Rachael Easton, Clare Zammit (Tessitura Network), Katy Raines (Indigo) and Kate Mroczkowski (Supercool) all came along.

We’re an informal group of women in technology meeting up to discuss the challenges that women face within the industry and how we can begin to break down the barriers and elevate our voices.

Any woman in IT is very welcome to join (we’re very friendly), so if you’d like to come along, or know anyone who would like to, please get in touch – sarah@reworkconsulting.co.uk

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