What's Next?

Congratulations on taking the first step towards inclusion of diverse voices. It is a journey so follow along and discover what else can be done!

What’s next for pledge takers/allies?

As an ally, we know that once you sign the pledge, you may probably get asked many questions around your decision to participate or not participate in a panel as a speaker. To support you, we are sharing some responses you can use to questions you are asked.

The following Frequently Asked Questions and responses to them might help you and others overcome resistance and bring more supporters to sign the Pledge(s). We will update these as needed - so feel free to reach out if you still have other questions not addressed here.

Note: The responses to these FAQs are written as if from the perspective of a signatory or a supporter, to provide you all with ready responses as needed!

Why did you sign this "Say no to manels" pledge?

In a nutshell? To encourage more diverse panels and nudge organizers and panelists to think about representation and inclusion when they organize events/panels!

The signatories of this pledge aim to comprehend, confront, and change the conditions underlying the persistence of ‘manels’, i.e. panels (of three or more speakers) composed entirely of men. Signatories are those individuals and organizations who acknowledge that manels undermine the voices, expertise, and contributions of both established and emergent women in the workplace by limiting their professional visibility and influence as leaders. Furthermore, we recognize that organizations miss out on much-needed vision and perspective when the diversity and representation they seek is not visible in important forums. Hence, as a collective of professionals/organizations committed to diversity as a means to organizational and individual success and fulfilment, as well as an end in itself, we pledge to Say No to Manels and will urge others to do so as well.

"I've signed this Manels pledge. Now what?"

First, thank you for noticing! I (and other signatories) are making a real difference in gender balanced representation in our sphere of influence...and trust us, this small action will have ripple effects! Second, we would love to have others (India focus) join this movement:

1. If you're a man, please sign the pledge as an individual here (and share with others!)

2. If you represent an organization, a university, an event organizer of any sort which organizes panels, conferences or other speaking events where a group of experts will be assembled in person or virtually, please sign the pledge as an event organizer here and share with others!)

3. If you see manels being organized, let them know the problems with this. Use some of the talking points from this Facts page on the "Say No to Manels" website.

4. If you're on Twitter, you can follow and use handles like @aartideetoo, @_WomenSpeakers_, @BiasWatchIndia, @GenderAvenger, @ManelWatchUS, @ManelWatchAU, @ExposingGender, @BetterAllies and others to call out manels.

"What if there are no women experts in this field/no women available?"

“Diversity is all very good - in theory. But there are just no women in this field.”

Yes, I also assumed this at first but here's the thing - it's likely not true. Try harder. I can suggest some women to take my place (or to speak in addition to the existing panelists). Please organize your conference/event earlier next time, to make sure you have the diversity (not just of gender) you need on your panels.

Yes, there are fewer women in this field than we’d like - and that’s precisely why we should try harder to give them a platform so that it signals aspiration and possibility!

(Also - follow the work of Bias Watch India for women in STEM fields and this evolving database of Women Speakers - as well as other databases that are engaged in this work of making your job of finding women experts easier!)

"We had a woman but she had to drop out and we ended up with a men-only panel"

There are several qualified and expert women – please find someone else to take her place. Ideally you should have had more than one woman on the panel.

(If this happens at the last minute) Okay, since I committed I cannot let you down. But I will make a comment about it during the panel and perhaps joke about it, to let the audience know that I am against manels. Ideally you should have had more than one woman on the panel.

"Come on, why are you making a big deal? We have to organize so many other things for this conference!"

Because this IS a big deal, and you are sending a strong message by continuing to organize manels in this day and age. But I understand this is difficult and new - so here are some resources to help:

1. The Gendered Conference Campaign has some great advice for conference organisers

2. Use social media to solicit experts

3. Check out these resources: https://womenspeakers.ushahidi.io/views/map and https://biaswatchindia.com/

"Okay, okay, we made sure we invited women speaker(s). Are you happy now?"

I am indeed happy! It is a start. But it’s not enough. Have you checked whether even panels with sufficient women speakers reflect diversity across gender, race, class, caste, nationality, and ability spectrums?