Is separate equal when it comes to TEDWomen?

This is a tough question that surfaced amidst the hoopla of the TEDWomen conference being announced (Washington DC, Dec. 7-8).   I admit that I hadn’t weighed in because there’s no clear cut answer, and I completely agree with points on both sides.

My view today, however, is that TEDWomen is better than nothing, still not enough, yet could possibly lead to great things.  Why?  Well, I tend to be an optimist, but see below for the logic behind my reasoning.

For those who missed the conversation and the controversy, let’s back up a few steps. TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading." The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, the founders of Google and many Nobel Prize winners (from Wikipedia).

Basically, it’s an expensive, invite only, who’s who event of movers and shakers.  This summer, TED organizers announced  a new conference TEDWomen – to focus on how women and girls are shaping the future. This announcement had some very vocal support as well acriticism.

At first blush – the conference sounds great.  But, looking closer, one could view this as marginalizing women's issues.  Or, one might wonder if this was TED’s response to the fact that only 20% (or slightly higher depending on what year) of speakers at the “real” TED conference are women.  On top of that, from what I understand, the audience has a similar gender makeup.  This led Salon’s Broadsheet to question Does the world need TEDWomen?

As stated above, I’m in favor of TEDWomen for the following reasons:

1.  The 20% number for female TED speakers roughly represents the numbers of women in national level politics, leadership roles at major companies, and on the nation’s editorial boards and Op-Ed pages. Until we start putting more women in these “culturally leading positions,” we should not expect to take up half the stage. TEDWomen, however, could be a launching pad for women to move into these culturally leading positions. Ladies, that doesn’t mean sitting around and waiting for men to anoint us … it means having opinions, taking risks and supporting each other so that we can fill up more of those seats and positions. 

2.  Hopefully the TEDWomen conference will focus on all women, and not solely on mothers.  Last year, Maria Shriver’s 2009 Conference for Women was a fabulous event, but as Melanie Notkin, founder, www.SavvyAuntie.com noted in an editor's letter on her site: PANK's (Professional Aunts No Kids) were left out of the conversation. More about that in an earlier Women's Dish post, "Speak up or others will speak for you."

3.  From my experience, sometimes separate can lead to great things. The Downtown Women’s Club was founded in 1998 because the women’s business groups in Boston created barriers to entry for younger women. Did being separate make us equal to them? No. But it demonstrated that we didn’t have to sit around and wait them to accept us. The DWC also served as a launching pad for many women now being courted by those same groups. But more importantly, it allowed us the freedom to try new things, do things differently, and keep the doors open for others who may be younger but come with a wealth of new and different ideas.

This is why, after a lot of internal debate, I’m for TEDWomen.  I hope some really brilliant women of all ages and backgrounds get up on that stage and do their thing without having to suffer under the weight of the legacy of what’s been done before.  I am looking forward to seeing these women introduce new concepts and spark new conversations that would never have happened on any other stage.

Diane K. Danielson is the founder of the Downtown Women’s Club, and the vp of business development for Convengine, LLC, a social media consulting firm.

Comments

[Diane Gaw]

As a graduate of Simmons College, I have to say I'm torn on this issue, too.

Having only women in class raised my awareness of our needs and rights, and gave me a sense of freedom to speak my mind that I wouldn't have had in a mixed group.

But separating us serves to keep our presence at an important conference to a minimal percentage.

Like you, Dianne, I can only hope TEDWomen will recognize and strengthen all women, in all fields of endeavor, so that increasing numbers are able to achieve more, and attend and be heard at the TED conferences.

This isn't an easy issue, and integration into male-dominated turf is important. But sometimes we women are our own worst enemies. (I'm thinking of the ERA and Phyllis Schlafly, a strong woman with her own business, totally against equality for women: where's the sense in that?)

Thanks for the informative and well thought out opinion on this! I'm crossing my fingers that we'll keep improving, no matter what path we take.

[Diane Danielson/CEO, Downtown Women's Club]

Diane - Thanks for you comment. It's a tough issue - here's some followup from cv harquil who comes down firmly on the side of it's a bad thing. She makes some good points. It's a difficult issue.

http://authenticorganizations.com/harquail/2010/07/29/followup-on-the-tedwomen-conversation/.\

Diane

[Sunny]

An excellent debate. It really is a hard topic. Focus should be on the positive aspects, and we can use it to move us even further in the right direction.

--Sunny