The world has reached a critical tipping point this year regarding addressing persistent issues around diversity and how to make more room for different perspectives. We have witnessed an increased awareness and sustained public outcry against systemic racism, inequality, discrimination and exclusion. None of these social challenges are easy to solve, but to create significant improvements, a collective societal effort must be made.
As a frequent conference speaker in the transportation industry, I often examine the future of mobility through the lens of recent trends. While I enjoy sharing my observations and experiences, I don’t regard my experiences as unique. But as I consider my good fortune as an influential voice in the transportation industry, I realize that many events are lacking the perspective of women in this industry. Case in point: Many events or conferences bring together experts in a field and the resulting panel (or ‘manel’) often consists only of male voices or worse - only white male voices. In the spirit of increasing diversity and inclusion, I resolve to never participate in a manel again.
In many of the largest cities, the transportation industry serves a diverse range of travelers every day, on every route, on every vehicle. How then, do we expect manels of ‘experts’ to not only find solutions for a diverse customer base, but to understand its wide-ranging and diverse needs? The lack of representation in speaking opportunities is a problem across many industries, not just transportation. But here, it's particularly relevant because the industry services the public in its many forms, ranging from different races, religions, classes, genders and socio-economic backgrounds.
It’s time to create an inclusive culture.
At transportation industry events, new voices must be heard and new perspectives seen. The problem won’t go away overnight and will require acknowledgement and participation across stakeholders from attendees and speakers to organizers to implement a more inclusive culture.
To avoid creating manels in the future, we should highlight:
Life experience, not job experience
Henry Ford once said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” This quote applies well to how event speakers are sourced and how the approach results in lack of representation. If conference organizers continue to target the C-suite from dominant companies in the industry, they will likely pull from a pool that suffers from decades of entrenched biases. If we are truly focused on how public transit can better serve all people, perhaps the greatest value for a panel discussion comes from a person’s life experience, not job experience. Are you inviting someone who can discuss a new experience or a fresh idea? Can the person speak to what it’s like to be a woman or BIPOC in the transit industry?
Establish a referral pipeline
Anyone who is frequently invited to speak at events knows that securing the engagements is often based on who you know. If you're responsible for organizing panels, go beyond your immediate network to ensure that your panels reflect the broad range of people you serve. You can do this by establishing a referral program. If you have the ear of someone who is arranging an upcoming event, you can suggest a list of diverse colleagues and candidates who have interesting stories to tell.
Don’t turn a blind eye to white washing
As we move closer to resuming in-person gatherings, we expect an explosion of events as industry organizations look to make progress on ideas while reconnecting with audiences. If you're planning to take part in an upcoming event, ask who else you can expect to see there and don’t turn a blind eye to white washing. Encourage change from the organizers and insist that women and BIPOC are invited. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable because it is how we can elevate underrepresented voices and create meaningful change.
Benchmarks keep us honest
Digital transformation has us drowning in data. We might as well use it for good. To that end, conference planners can be ambitious about goals for recruiting and presenting diverse panels and speakers. These benchmarks should be evaluated regularly and provide the accountability needed to keep us honest. The goal should be a cadence of engaging events that genuinely reflect the beautifully diverse tapestry of our customers.
Use your personal platform
If you find yourself in the fortunate circumstance to have a platform, you have the obligation to use it to help others. We should never again see an all-male panel on a conference agenda, because the organizers should hear regularly how the industry wants diverse representation and experiences. Let them hear that you'll spend your registration fee at a different event, one that is working to amplify a broader cross-section of viewpoints.
I look forward to returning to physical events in the near future -- and I hope this advice will help those conferences open their stage to a more inclusive crowd than ever before.
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Mick Spiers is vice president of strategy and marketing at Cubic Transportation Systems.
