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GTM is serious about ensuring that the best women in the clean energy sector have a strong voice.
We are not perfect. Cleantech is more diverse than other energy sectors, but women are still largely underrepresented. We have had our share of lectures in the past dominated by men. And we have been rightly called for this.
As part of the Women Advancing Grid Edge (W.A.G.E.) initiative, we have worked hard to increase the representation of women in all our conferences. In fact, our next event – the Blockchain in Energy Forum scheduled in San Francisco on September 11th – is made up by 48% of women who speak
Although we have always tried to avoid #manels, we think that this gender balance is particularly important for a sector dominated by men like blockchain .
In light of the #nevermanel world, we would like to share some brief insights on how to increase diversity. We understand that there may be challenges during the organization of an event, but here are some suggestions for dealing with them.
The challenges:
- Event planning is difficult: in the case of three of our speakers, we approached women in the company. None of the senior leaders were available for the event, so we went with one of their equally qualified male colleagues.
- Women do not approach: among the more than 20 people who contacted the speaker, only two were women. I encourage women to talk more about the panels. If you are a male, you can encourage co-workers to do the same.
- Lack of female leadership in companies: some important startups had zero female leaders.
- Calendar of events: events have a deadline and at a certain point the speakers need to be programmed Sometimes speakers leave the last minute and it is essential to find a substitute.
Suggestions for achieving a strong gender balance:
- Leaning on networks: we contacted the blockchain pioneers in our network to advise women across the industry. Special cries here at Jesse Morris at the Energy Web Foundation, Jo-Jo Hubbard at Electron, Kristen Brown at Exelon and Killian Tobin at Omega Grid.
- Do not be afraid to explicitly ask the women of the team: Being in the forefront with companies on our goal has contributed to increasing gender diversity; most companies are completely behind in trying to promote diversity across the industry.
We could not be more enthusiastic about our training of incredible women and men at next week's event and hope you will join us. Find out more about the event here.
