Enough of 'Manels'! Can we please have more women speakers at conferences?!

I've been to a few conferences off-late, and several more are coming up. And I cannot understand why there are so many men on the stage all the time! Turns out this problem is not limited to forums that I tend to frequent, but seems to be happening across variety of disciplines and topics. The Director of the National Institutes of Health in the US Department of Health & Human Services has declared on their website : "it is time to end the tradition in science of all-male speaking panels, sometimes wryly referred to as “manels". This study on prevalence of 'manels' in major urology meetings is another example / evidence!

A “manel” is a panel of professionals, often speakers at a conference or event, composed mostly or entirely of men (meaning, typically, but not always, cisgender men) - James Lindsay in 'New Discourses'

Having conducted my share of events, both internally within organisations at a fairly large scale, and few external (most recent and large-scale one being 'RoohSearch 2023 '), I can confidently say that it all boils down to the intent and commitment behind the organising team. If the organisers don't make it a priority and relentlessly focus on having enough women speakers, then it will just not happen. It's as simple as that. Rest is all justification.

At RoohSearch 2023 , with hardly 2 months' time to put the online event together, the organising team was able to put together an amazing line up of speakers and moderators for various tracks. In total, we had 37 speakers and moderators. And in that, we had 23 women ! The detailed agenda and speaker list is still available on the website here .

My invitation to all those folks who organise any events, conferences, seminars on any topic, please make it a priority and focus on getting more women speakers on the agenda. That's the only way this will change.

For the Design thinking, Behavioural science, UX, product design and related communities, I have put together a list of women that organisers can consider for these forums and topics. Some of them are already out there doing such talks, some of them are still 'under the radar' as far as such events are concerned.

Alongside each person's name, their current role / organisation, and location, I have taken the liberty to call out a few topics which, I felt, might be worth exploring with each of these women leaders and designers.

(Note: This list is not in any particular order).

1. Payal Vaidya , Managing Director - Customer Experience at VMLY&R. Mumbai: Customer experience, Innovation, Service Design, Brand Strategy, Design leadership.
2. Priya Sathiyam , Design Director at Fractal.ai , New York. She has recently published an amazing book on Design for children . Design Education for Children, Design Democratisation in large corporates, Building design capability in large organisations, Design leadership, Design for AI, Design for Enterprise customers (vs B2C).
3. Shalini Raghunathan , co-founder, 3 Big Things ; Bangalore (Full disclosure: we are business partners at 3 Big Things and life partners as well!). Design Research & Strategy, Indic Design / Indian mythology, Design Thinking and Innovation, Design Leadership, Building design capability in large organisations, Design Critique.
4. Deepa Bachu , Director of UX at Google and previously, founder of Pensaar Design; Bangalore. Design Research & Strategy, UX Design, Design Leadership, Design Entrepreneurship, Building design capability in organisations, Design for Enterprise customers (vs B2C).
5. Shruti Ramiah , Head of Design at Zalando SE, Berlin. Design Leadership, Design Research & Strategy, Service Design, Building design capability in large organisations, Design Thinking and Innovation.
6. Ruchi Batra , Chief Design Officer, IBM iX, Gurgaon. UX Design, Design Leadership, Leading large design teams, Leading large design teams in organisations, Design for AI, Design for Enterprise customers (vs B2C).
7. Azmina Poddar , Managing Director - Chief Creative Officer at Accenture Song, Bangalore. UX Design, Design Leadership, Leading large design teams, Building design capabilities in large organisations.
8. Veena Sonwalkar , Studio Head - Frog Design, Bangalore. UX Design Design Leadership, Building design capabilities in organisations, Service Design.
9. Shaheena Attarwala , previously Principal UX Manager at Microsoft, Mumbai. UX Design, UX Research, Design in Tech, Design Leadership, Design for Enterprise customers + B2C.
10. Samina Rahman , Director - Shared Program Design & Development at Noora Health, Bangalore. Service Design, Design Research & Strategy, Design for Healthcare, Building design capabilities in organisations, Design Leadership.
11. Somya Hastekar , Principal Design Lead, Microsoft, New Delhi. Building design capabilities in large organisations, UX Design, Design Leadership, Design for AI, Design for Enterprise customers (vs B2C).
12. Krittika Sharma , Behaviour Design Lead - Healthcare & Lifesciences at Fractal.ai , Toronto. Design Research & Strategy, Design for Healthcare, Design Leadership, Design for AI, Design for 'End of life' care.
13. Divya Chaddha , Staff UX Researcher at Disney+ Hotstar, Bangalore. Design Research & Strategy, Building user research capabilities in large organisations, User Research for product development.
14. Ruchika Tiwari , UX Research Lead, Citrix, Bangalore. User Research, User Research for product development. Building user research capabilities in large organisations, Design for Enterprise customers (vs B2C).
15. Reshma Tonse , Co-Founder, 1001 Stories, Bangalore. Behavioural Science, Consumer Insights, Brand Strategy, Innovation, Psychology.
16. Devika Ganapathy , Founder, Anagram Research, Bangalore. User Research & Strategy / UX Research, Design Entrepreneurship, Building user research capabilities in organisations, User Research for product development.
17. Aditi Parekh , Program Manager at Leading Change Network and Founding team member, The Raina AI Lab, Bangalore. Storytelling, Leadership, Coaching, Education.
18. Drishti Desai , Co-founder and Chief Design Officer at Charcoal, Bangalore. Industrial Design, Product Design & Innovation, Design Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Design for D2C.
19. Isha Gopal , Founder and Play Maker at Bloon Toys, Mumbai. Design Entrepreneurship, Product Design & Innovation, Design for children, Design for education.
20. Anushka Sani , Founder at Thought Over Design, Mumbai. Design Entrepreneurship, Brand Building, Brand Design for Startups, Communication Design, Leading design teams.

It'd be great to see this list grow. If you have recommendations for more such inspiring and accomplished women to add to this list, please add those in the comments. Thank you!