My colleague Clare McNeil wrote a piece last week setting out the case for ending all-male panels. It’s clear and compelling; if you haven’t already read it, please do.
IPPR holds well over 100 events every year. It is now our policy to ensure that there are no all-male panels at these events. We will also endeavour not to speak at events or broadcasts hosted by others if the panels are made up only of men.
To implement this policy, we will need to expand our networks. The Women’s Room is creating a growing directory of female experts and this is a great start. Our events list for 2013 will be an additional source for organisations looking to draw on a more diverse and interesting range of speakers, experts and participants. Others have led the way on this issue, but we want to put our own house in order and encourage others in our sector to do the same.
The good news is that British feminism is currently full of energy and political momentum. Issues of core concern to feminists – like childcare and shared parenting rights – are currently high up the political agenda. Organisations such as Object have successfully mobilised against the proliferation of lapdancing clubs and the ubiquity of pornography, while the EVAW coalition does the same for tackling violence against women. UK Feminista is training a new generation of activists. And young women are defining their own feminist voices on grassroots blogs like The Vagenda.
From now on, IPPR will ensure that it no longer holds any events with all male panels and that on every issue, we will hear women’s voices. We hope others will do the same.
I am very pleased to read this, your stance has made me question my own organisation’s practice and I very much hope others will follow your lead.
Good call. Well done.
Long overdue, but very welcome commitment. There are so many excellent women speakers and experts.
Brilliant move. I hereby take the same pledge – anything I organise or any events I chair will have to avoid being ‘pale, male and stale’. Good work IPPR.
Really? You come up with this now? You probably haven’t noticed but others have been doing this for years! Seems like ippr has been pressing the snooze button on the alarm clock for a while and now wants to jump on the band wagon.
Whilst I welcome the aim of ensuring all expert voices are heard I wonder whether there are any moves to have ‘The Men’s Room’, ban male strip shows, promote UK Masculinista or grassroots blogs like Penile Times? Probably not.
IPPR should be researching why there are all male panels in the first place not issuing such well meant but sub-optimising policy.
The only true way to equality is to render all special interest groups promoting one protected characteristic over another, irrelevant and have a society that truly and genuinely sees the value in us all.
Fully agree and well done on this initiative, can you also make a committment to have ethnically balanced panels as well, after all ethnic minorities also have something to say!
Er yes, good, but when Charter 88 launched in 1988 we made it a rule to have no all-male panels and I don’t think it was ever broken across many meetings in the late 80s and nineties.