{"id":42758,"date":"2023-10-20T15:23:33","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/hey-sydstart-looking-for-female-conference-speakers-here-are-almost-50-women-you-could-call-for-starters-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:23:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:23:33","slug":"hey-sydstart-looking-for-female-conference-speakers-here-are-almost-50-women-you-could-call-for-starters-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/hey-sydstart-looking-for-female-conference-speakers-here-are-almost-50-women-you-could-call-for-starters-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey SydStart, looking for female conference speakers? Here are almost 50 women you could call for starters – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

All-male panels have become an all too common sight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recently we\u2019ve seen one of Australia\u2019s biggest startup conferences, SydStart, announce its first round of speakers without any women featured<\/a>, although they\u2019re promising there are female entrepreneurs to come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a problem in the industry that some are starting to address, with a call to \u201chack\u201d all-male panels by men giving up their seats to women. This happened recently at a panel in Cardiff, with Andrew Grill switching seats with a female entrepreneur in the audience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pollenizer partnerships manager Nicola Farrell was one of the first to respond to SydStart\u2019s male lineup, and later forwarded on a list of potential female speakers to the organisers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She says it\u2019s disappointing to continually see a lack of women at tech conferences.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite disheartening from someone in the industry to not be represented in conferences,\u201d Farrell says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason for me to be part of that sort of event then.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cConferences need participation from all types of people in the community.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTo launch an event without a substantially diverse list is not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is a wealth of female entrepreneurs to draw on for startup conferences, and many in the Australian scene have begun to suggest names that should be appearing at upcoming conferences.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many female entrepreneurs that we want to hear from. People like me want to hear their stories,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We thought we\u2019d help out and produce a list of potential speakers. With just a little research, some help from our friends over at Women\u2019s Agenda<\/i>, and a few chats with the right people, it didn\u2019t take very long at all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly not close to a conclusive list, but it\u2019s a start. It\u2019s mostly Australian with a few internationals that we\u2019d love to hear speak. If you have any suggestions to be added to the list be sure to let us know and we\u2019ll add them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n