Have you noticed that a lot of the time it just seems like, gosh, there are a lot of dudes speaking at this conference? Perhaps you\u2019ve been on a panel and you\u2019ve looked around and seen man after man after man. Maybe you\u2019ve thought, it\u2019s too bad the organizers didn\u2019t think to balance this out a bit more and ask some women to speak too.<\/p>\n
I love that this has bothered you. And I am happy to tell you about a simple step you can take to help change this: Refuse to speak on all male-panels. Just say no.<\/p>\n
\u2026 The conference organizer is not the only person here with power. If you have been asked to speak on or moderate a panel, make it your business to ensure that this does not happen. We created a simple pledge that our editor Alexis has taken. Feel free to add yourself or make the pledge in your head privately.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Rosen offers a little pledge form to sign and everything. The pledge reads:<\/p>\n
I will not speak on or moderate all-male panels at technology and science conferences.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Excellent idea \u2014 too good not to steal.<\/p>\n
Rosen\u2019s point, and her pledge, seem applicable and desperately needed for the realm of church and theology conferences as well. So let\u2019s adapt and adopt her pledge accordingly:<\/p>\n
I will not speak on or moderate all-male panels at church and theology conferences.<\/p>\n
But then involving more people means applying more pressure for change. And involving more people also empowers more people to be the kind of people who can bring about change.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s adapt this pledge further to be something that those of us who aren\u2019t the sort of people usually invited to speak on or moderate all-male panels can participate in as well:<\/p>\n
I will not speak on or moderate or attend<\/em> all-male panels at church and theology conferences.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Regarding science and technology conferences, Rebecca Rosen says, “Refuse to speak on all male-panels. Just say no.” That’s an excellent idea that applies just as well to church and theology conferences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-13373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicals","tag-gender"],"yoast_head":"\n
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