His session, which lasted four hours non-stop contained nothing more than common sense motivation and management advice (“Nothing achieves success greater than the pattern of success,” and other such gems of wisdom). And yet – there was a magic in the way he held the crowd and triggered so much flow of energy. I was in awe. A lesson for all of us; how to be influential, how to lead, how to be followed.
I nearly didn’t go the conference. Several months ago, I bought a ticket, late one night, after a friend persuaded me. It was only afterwards that I looked at the website and scrolled down in horror. Every single speaker in the line-up was a man.
What was this; a three-day national conference calling itself inspirational and motivational with a total of zero female role models? What kind of message is this sending out? That women need not to aspire to reach the top because they’re not wanted?
Men dominate the business world and are twice as likely to start a business as women. The barriers stopping women are external (other people’s expectations, preference for the status quo), practical (women still overwhelmingly taking on the child and home care role) and internal (external factors feed back and affect women’s confidence and risk taking levels) – all reinforcing the 'negativity' that halts success and that Tony Robbins is so keen for us all to dispel.
Role models can therefore help a great deal in instigating change. Nothing achieves success greater than the pattern of success.
I spent the day, in between sessions, talking to members of the organising team and asking them why there were no female speakers. Some interesting reactions. All very friendly and helpful (not always the reaction I get to pleas for equality); several scratched their heads and thought for a moment. “Oh yes, you’re right. It hadn’t occurred to me, but now you say it, yes, err...it’s something we should really change.”
I didn’t find the main organiser – the man who apparently has all the power in selecting speakers – but I shall be writing to him and sending him a link to this blog. I might find him today, the last day of the conference. I need to know that next year they will make an effort to draw in some high-profile women. I will report back; watch this space.
Hi Delilah, I love your post. You're a woman after my own heart - in search of equality for women and asking questions when there's a gap. Thanks for approaching the organisers. I e-mailed them and got this response 'The line up for this years National Achievers Congress just so happens to contain only male speakers', which tells me loudly and clearly that it hadn't entered their heads to consciously aim to have women on the panel. And this is indeed what you found. Do let me know how the head man responds and let's consider what we can do to ensure that next year they remember us. By the way, the response from women I've spoken to is interesting. Some can't see what the fuss is about. If you're a member of LinkedIn and join the 'Women Unlimited' group, you'll see the trail of comments I've received in response to my statement on this topic.
ReplyDeletethis post title seems dull but after reading this post i found its very useful information about women
ReplyDeletethanks for this information
elizabeth arden
Thanks... I agree title is dull but I wanted the name of the congress to be in it to help google searches! I did a google search myself to see who else wrote about it and found the fab Claudia! (above)
ReplyDeleteHear, hear! It's disgusting but unfortunately not a massive surprise that it didn't occur to the orgnaisers that there were no women speaking. Seems a bit like an old boys' club, all patting themselves on the back for being great achievers. Steer clear of these kind of events in future.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment eee-eph. That's one of the outcomes of a male-dominated panel. Completely unappealing for the likes of us! And so...the old traditions persist. Hope we can kickstart a change.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise there because men continue to delude themselves they alone are the default human species and continue to view world through their male myopic lenses.
ReplyDeleteWomen don't even think of challenging such misogynistic male myopia because apparently we don't exist!! We only exist to serve men's needs in an invisible capacity.
Hi Jennifer... yes, I think it's a case of traditions being very difficult to shift, and people blindly carrying on as things have always been. Time to open people's eyes to the craziness of the status quo, and persuade them of the benefits of changing!
ReplyDeleteWomen don't even think of challenging such misogynistic male myopia because apparently we don't exist.
ReplyDeletePrescriptions
Thanks all for comments. We have already made a difference! I spoke to lead organiser today - see blog post for results:
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