4 ms·

CES kicks off with no lead women speakers or code of conduct

8 points by rectang 9y ago

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
GhostVII 9y ago
> “To keynote at CES, the speaker must head (president/CEO level) a large entity who has name recognition in the industry,” said Karen Chupka, who oversees the event as senior vice president at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), in a blog post a month ago. “As upsetting as it is, there is a limited pool when it comes to women in these positions. We feel your pain. It bothers us, too. The tech industry and every industry must do better.” Sounds like CES isn't really doing anything wrong here.
- bastawhiz 9y ago
  They could just relax their rules. I'm sure there are a fair number of non-male VPs or other execs with name recognition that would be pleased to speak at CES. Did they even look?
  - rectang 9y ago
    Yeah, there's no excuse for zero. That's ridiculous. Outreach takes effort, but if you're sincere and your organization is truly welcoming, it works. Even when there's a limited pool, you can still make things happen. A handful of candidates tend to be in high demand, but that's fine. But CES hasn't even adopted a code of conduct! No wonder their numbers are so dire.
vfulco 9y ago
And somehow it will go on. Imagine that.
fractallyte 9y ago
> CES made a concerted push to diversify its entire speaker lineup, but ultimately failed to find a high-ranking female executive for an individual keynote address. And Karen Chupka wrote: “As upsetting as it is, there is a limited pool when it comes to women in these positions. We feel your pain. It bothers us, too. The tech industry and every industry must do better.” Now check out this event: http://www.officeshow.co.uk/ http://www.officeshow.co.uk/ Lots of photos of females on the front page. A majority of female speakers here. I bet the attendees will be mainly female. Just observations, symptomatic of the problem... And the problem is women, just as much as anything else. There, I said it. Get out there and do some science, engineering, AND tech.

8 points by rectang 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

> “To keynote at CES, the speaker must head (president/CEO level) a large entity who has name recognition in the industry,” said Karen Chupka, who oversees the event as senior vice president at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), in a blog post a month ago. “As upsetting as it is, there is a limited pool when it comes to women in these positions. We feel your pain. It bothers us, too. The tech industry and every industry must do better.” Sounds like CES isn't really doing anything wrong here.

bastawhiz 9y ago
They could just relax their rules. I'm sure there are a fair number of non-male VPs or other execs with name recognition that would be pleased to speak at CES. Did they even look?
- rectang 9y ago
  Yeah, there's no excuse for zero. That's ridiculous. Outreach takes effort, but if you're sincere and your organization is truly welcoming, it works. Even when there's a limited pool, you can still make things happen. A handful of candidates tend to be in high demand, but that's fine. But CES hasn't even adopted a code of conduct! No wonder their numbers are so dire.

vfulco 9y ago

And somehow it will go on. Imagine that.

fractallyte 9y ago

> CES made a concerted push to diversify its entire speaker lineup, but ultimately failed to find a high-ranking female executive for an individual keynote address. And Karen Chupka wrote: “As upsetting as it is, there is a limited pool when it comes to women in these positions. We feel your pain. It bothers us, too. The tech industry and every industry must do better.” Now check out this event: http://www.officeshow.co.uk/ http://www.officeshow.co.uk/ Lots of photos of females on the front page. A majority of female speakers here. I bet the attendees will be mainly female. Just observations, symptomatic of the problem... And the problem is women, just as much as anything else. There, I said it. Get out there and do some science, engineering, AND tech.