Yesterday, two things happened.
I got an email from Sound Women telling me that the organisation will be closing down at the end of next year.
And I went to a radio and audio conference in London.
I’ll explain the link in a minute. But let’s just say for the moment, that I learnt a new word yesterday too: manel.
It’s sad news that Sound Women is closing, because I think it’s fair to say that it has achieved a lot in the five years of its existence. As their blog explains, it’s a consequence of time (of their volunteers) and resources that has led to the decision.
What’s clear is that while the issues raised by Sound Women have been tackled to some extent, that does not mean that sexism in the radio and audio industry is over.
The medium still has a lack of diversity, and when I say this, I include sex, race and social background. I trust that their legacy will live on.
I received the email as I sat in a London radio and audio conference – the RAIN Summit Europe – in The British Museum. Overall I like this event, and there are a good range of speakers including some really excellent ones.
Notably Megan Lazovick of Edison Research gave a really good talk about in-car radio listening. It included some frighteningly dangerous footage of drivers explaining how they used their mobile phones to stream audio while in the car (coming in the week that a truck driver was imprisoned for ten years after killing a family while using his phone). But there was some really good insight into usage in the car.
Then in the afternoon we got entertaining presentations from David Cooper of Spotify and Sam Crowther of A Million Ads.
But there was also this.
Turns out you *can* have too many people on a panel. Not exactly diverse either… pic.twitter.com/Haxjx9R85o
— Adam Bowie (@adambowie) November 2, 2016
Yes – that’s a NINE person panel for a session. And all nine, plus the moderator, are white men from around Europe. I’d tell you what it was about, but I practically fell asleep as it was as interesting as watching a supertanker conduct a turning procedure.
This size panel does not work. Panels are generally not great at conferences unless they’re incredibly well focused. You can’t have a meaningful discussion with this many people in the room.
And if you are going to have a massive panel, or even a small one, couldn’t you have at least found ONE woman?
My Twitter feed taught me a new word at this point: Manel.
I don’t think Sound Women’s job is quite yet done…