
#GalsNGear founder Amy DeLouise explains how media technology trade shows can take intentional steps to fully reflect the full diversity of people who are part of our fast-changing industry
By Contributor
Published: April 8, 2024 Updated: April 9, 2024
#GalsNGear founder Amy DeLouise explains how media technology trade shows can take intentional steps to fully reflect the full diversity of people who are part of our fast-changing industry
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> #GalsNGear founder Amy DeLouise explains how media technology trade shows can take intentional steps to fully reflect the full diversity of people who are part of our fast-changing industry
https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/people/opinion-why-trade-shows-can-and-must-evolve title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Take a look around any trade show floor in the media, entertainment or tech industry and you'll notice something. Or rather, the lack of something. Women. Especially women of colour. While there are more women in sales and marketing now than in decades past, trade shows in our industry are still something of a white bro-fest as a leading technologist I know once dubbed them. Manels -all male panels-are still common, despite plenty of women with expertise in a range of technical tools, workflows and case studies.
Why worry? If we are to be sustainable as a constantly evolving industry, we need our trade shows to reflect the people who design and use the tools we are selling, and consume the content we make. Take software demos. It's still common for a woman to be at the welcome desk, but for a guy to be running the demo.
Booths selling cameras may still feature a seductively clothed female model draping herself over a chair, reading a book, while guys line up to look at her through different lenses. Why should a silent, sexualised woman be the subject of the lens and not hosting the demo? And yet there are literally thousands of women camera operators. (At #GALSNGEAR, we have often brought DP's and other tech-saavy women to host demos at trade show booths. And thankfully, many of our allies and partners are already doing just that!)
Where are the women? One company owner told me we have trouble finding lady engineers . (Could that be because women don't want to work for a company that calls them lady engineers ?) In fairness, women do get fewer engineering degrees than men. However, women with these skills are not gravitating to our media & entertainment field. According to Pew Research, in 2021, women made up 50 per cent of those employed in STEM jobs in the US. That number is 25 per cent in the UK. Pew's assessment showed women with STEM degrees are opting into healthcare, rather than computer science or engineering jobs. Women in healthcare are more likely to be promoted, with peers and mentors who are also women. They can see a path to leadership; they belong. We could make that happen in M&E.
Why does It matter? According to Gallup, the cost of replacing an employee can range from one-half to two times the employee's annual salary. Investing in retention is a smart business move. Companies can do this by nominating younger and more diverse members of their team to participate in trade show events alongside veterans. Make your case that this is not a marketing budget line item. It is a Human Resources and employee retention investment.
Released at the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world's largest gathering of women technologists, the Capital One Women in Tech 2019 survey revealed a number of top factors cited by women who reached leadership positions in tech. Retention was driven by having a sense of purpose at work , which is why trade shows can make a difference. Because these gatherings foster a shared sense of purpose.
Educational sessions help us to be visible, be recognised, and see how our own work plays a role in the larger industry. And of course, we have a drink with old friends and meet new ones, building key networks for ourselves and our companies. Attendees feel a greater sense of belonging. They see the big picture. They're more likely to stick to a career path in our industry. And we need them at every level of the career pipeline.
What's on our trade show checklist?
Trade shows that haven't already should explicitly ban scantily clothed models and sexualized content on the booth. Most have already done so.
Attending companies can coach less experienced attendees how to navigate the experience. Introduce them around. Help them build their networks. Through #GALSNGEAR, we will be bringing a dozen career professionals and students to NAB Show. Most have never attended. More than half are women of colour. At the show, our Women's Leadership Summit showcases women in media talking about technology and building your leadership brand. We have also brought diverse voices to speak on technical topics to Infocomm, SXSW, and IBC. This is just a small step towards supporting that sense of belonging so vital to our industry's sustainability.
Conference organisers should not accept all-male panels in their programming, period. Adding a woman moderator isn't the solution. If you've been invited to speak on a panel, before accepting, ask for the gender and racial breakdown of your session, and suggest qualified participants who don't look like you. And yes, this could mean reaching out beyond your usual I know a guy networks. #GALSNGEAR and many other women's organisations are here to help. Since 2016, we have placed more than 350 expert speakers who also happen to be women.
We have a way to go before the trade show floor reflects the full diversity of people who we serve and who will be a part of our fast-changing industry. But by taking intentional steps as individuals a
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...