{"id":45030,"date":"2023-10-20T15:40:32","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/sydstarts-first-batch-of-speakers-are-all-men-but-organisers-promise-women-are-on-the-way-startupsmart-2\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:40:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:40:32","slug":"sydstarts-first-batch-of-speakers-are-all-men-but-organisers-promise-women-are-on-the-way-startupsmart-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/sydstarts-first-batch-of-speakers-are-all-men-but-organisers-promise-women-are-on-the-way-startupsmart-2\/","title":{"rendered":"SydStart\u2019s first batch of speakers are all men, but organisers promise women are on the way – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

One of Australia\u2019s biggest startup conferences has unveiled its first round of speakers for this year, and they\u2019re all men.<\/p>\n

SydStart, which was acquired by<\/a> Freelancer last year, announced 10 Australian and international speakers last week, and they all have one thing in common. Of the ten speakers announced, none are female.<\/p>\n

Speakers at the conference will include 9GAG founder Ray Chan, the \u201cgodfather of growth hacking\u201d Sean Ellis, former director of product management at Facebook for mobile Mick Johnson and UnBounce co-founder Oli Gardner.<\/p>\n

Senior international director at Freelancer, Adam Byrnes, says many women were asked to be part of SydStart, but a lot were asking for speaking fees, something which the conference doesn\u2019t offer.<\/p>\n

SydStart are, however, looking at rectifying the situation. Byrnes says they\u2019ve now contacted many female entrepreneurs to be a part of the conference, including Adi Tatarko from Houzz and Joanna Wiebe from Copy Hackers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really hoping that they\u2019ll say yes,\u201d Byrnes says.<\/p>\n

\n

Totally! @kellytagalan It’s a shame to see not even one woman on the bill? @sydstart #startupaus #changetheratio https:\/\/t.co\/qT7MzuYVhl<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nicola Farrell (@Nixos) July 9, 2015<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tristonne Forbes, a member of Startup Victoria\u2019s Female Founders committee, says the lack of female speakers is very disappointing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a shame,\u201d Forbes says. \u201cThere are plenty of women around, so there\u2019s no reason why none of them are involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an all too common sight with some startup conferences \u2013 there\u2019s even a Tumblr devoted to calling out all-male panels with a little help from the Hoff.<\/p>\n

Some people are beginning to take matters into their own hands. At a conference in Cardiff, Andrew Grill saw that he was on a panel composed entirely of men, so he gave up his seat to a woman in the audience.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/i> Springboard Enterprises Australia’s accelerator program for female entrepreneurs launched \u2013 sexism still rife in startup ecosystem<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

SydStart will be more successful if more women are involved, Forbes says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could you not? It\u2019s more unnatural not to have diversity than it is to have diversity,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd they\u2019ll attract more people if they have female speakers there.\u201d<\/p>\n

SydStart will announce more speakers in the coming weeks, so we\u2019ll wait and see if the next batch is a bit more inclusive.<\/p>\n

SydStart will be held at Sydney Town Hall on October 29 and 30. For tickets click<\/i> here<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Raising your<\/i> first round of capital<\/i><\/a>? Starting a<\/i> crowdfunding campaign<\/i><\/a>? Want to grow your business<\/i> with Instagram?<\/i><\/a> StartupSmart School can help.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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