Merit isn’t neutral

I called out an all-male panel – a manel – last week and one of the panellists responded with the reply: “Merit trumps all.” I checked yesterday and he has apparently now deleted that comment. No acknowledgement, apology, or comment that it might have been wrong. I wrote about this three years ago. I’ve been… Read More Merit isn’t neutral

Thirty to One

I was listening to a rock playlist the other day as I worked. I like music when I’m working and it’s usually instrumentals only but I fancied a bit of a singalong as I was grazing the internet and looking for the interesting stuff. First on the list were Fleetwood Mac and I hummed along… Read More Thirty to One

What’s a manel to do?

I saw a Twitter conversation last week between Katrina Collier and Sharon Green on the topic of manels and under-representation of women as speakers. Here’s a list of some random thoughts based on what I’ve seen and heard. As I keep saying, this stuff matters. Don’t rely on other people to change it, do something… Read More What’s a manel to do?

1 in 4

I was in a session last week with 40 other people. There were 11 men in the group – including me – and near the end of the session came an opportunity for people to feed back publicly. Of course you know what happened before I tell you. 4 men spoke and one woman. So… Read More 1 in 4